Three years ago, I stopped buying margarine.
No announcement. No family meeting. I just didn’t put it in the trolley.
It didn’t go down well. “I like margarine.” “Why are you changing everything?”
Fair point. I had started changing a few things.
Cereal went (apart from oats). Butter replaced spreads. Filtered water became normal. Plastic chopping boards and non-stick pans quietly disappeared.
There was resistance. Not just from the kids — from my wife as well.
I understand.
No one likes something being taken away when they didn’t ask for it and if I’m honest, back then, the lectures weren’t received well either.
So I stopped explaining it.
I just got on with my own thing.
Breakfast, if I have it, is simple: frozen berries, yoghurt, oats, kefir, nuts.
Nothing extreme. Just consistent. At the time, I was the only one interested in any of it.
Change takes longer than you think
Then slowly… things have shifted.
A tub of margarine would appear now and again — now not at all.
The yoghurt has started going quicker.
Fresh food began replacing convenience.
The other day I even overheard the kids talking about how good butter tastes on toast.
Then it hit me. Not because of the butter. Because something had changed — without a single lecture.
As a dad, especially with adult kids, advice is a tricky one.
If they ask, they’ll listen.
If they don’t, you get pushback.
So I stopped trying to tell them what to do.
I carried on doing my thing.
I paid attention to what was in the house.
Change like this can be slow.
Not weeks. Not months.
Years!!.
While it’s happening, it feels like nothing is changing.
It is — just quietly, In habits. In taste. In what feels normal.
Over time, that becomes the baseline.
You only really see it if you stop and reflect on where things were.
Now I’m at a stage where I enjoy taking my family out for a meal.
Not just to eat, but to experience food properly.
That’s a long way from chips and nuggets.
I didn’t force that.
It grew.
If you’re trying to improve your own health, or influence the people around you:
You don’t need to win the argument.
You need to stick with it long enough for people to see it for themselves… and for you to see it too.
Three years on, the food I buy disappears quicker than ever.
Slightly annoying.
But something is working.
And that’s what matters.
Change doesn’t need to be loud.
It just needs to be consistent.
Why this matters beyond the home
The same pattern shows up in the workplace.
People don’t change because they’re told to.
They change when something becomes normal around them.
You can run a wellbeing day, bring in fruit bowls, or send out another email about health.
But if the environment doesn’t support it day to day, nothing sticks.
What people see, what’s available, and what’s easy — that’s what shapes behaviour.
It’s no different to what happens at home.
Small, consistent changes.
Repeated over time.
That’s what shifts energy, focus, and ultimately performance.
Not because people are forced to change.
Because it becomes the way things are done.
If you’re looking at this in your workplace
Take a step back and look at what’s actually normal day to day.
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What’s within easy reach when energy dips?
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What are people relying on to get through the afternoon?
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What behaviours are being quietly reinforced?
You don’t need a big reset.
You need small changes that are visible, consistent, and repeatable.
If this resonates, have a look around your own environment — at home or at work — and ask yourself:
What’s one small change that could become the new normal over time?
Or if you want a second pair of eyes on it, I’m always happy to have a conversation.