Learning to Lay Train Tracks

One of my clients ate fast food nearly every day for 12 years. It wasn't because he loved it - it was just easy, predictable, and safe.

Then he got married.

He wanted to cook at home with his wife, try new foods, and build better habits around meals. But he had no idea where to start.

Instead of telling him to just stop eating fast food, we asked a better question: What would make cooking at home easier?

Think of your habits like a train, and your environment like the track. If you want the train to go somewhere new, you have to lay the track first.

Before our first session, he bought an air fryer and a chef's knife.

Then we kept laying one piece of track at a time:

• A cutting board and a solid pan

• Keeping simple groceries in the house

• Picking 1–2 recipes to try each week

• Planning meals ahead together

His goal wasn't to cook every meal from scratch overnight. It was just to eat at home three nights a week. Then five. Then meal prepping.

Eventually, fast food went from his daily default to a last-resort backup. As he told me later: “Fast food actually tastes terrible after what we’ve been making at home.”

We often blame a lack of discipline when what we really need is better environment design.

You don't need to overhaul your entire life tomorrow. Figure out where you want the train to go - then lay the next piece of track.