How the stresses of life can be used to your advantage

Stephen Grootes speaks to Richard Sutton about the book, unpacking how Shift Happens reframes stress as a powerful performance signal and explores the practical tools and real world stories that help people build strength, clarity and confidence under pressure.

Listen to the interview in the audio player below. 

Stress, exhaustion and self-doubt are part of modern life, but they don’t have to run the show.

In Shift Happens, Richard Sutton explains how these pressure points can be used, not avoided.

When handled properly, they become tools for focus, creativity and resilience.

Drawing on 25 years of hands-on experience and science-backed research, Sutton shares 12 practical techniques that fit into real life.

No extreme routines. No perfection required. Just small, intentional changes that make a noticeable difference.

Along the way, he introduces people who already live this way, from elite athletes, global performers and leaders who’ve learned how to stay grounded when the stakes are high.

Readers will also learn how to:

• Regulate stress responses through cold exposure
• Enhance cognitive flexibility and creativity via brief movement protocols
• Stabilise the nervous system using proven breathing techniques
• Maintain consistent performance in high-stakes situations

Speaking to Stephen Grootes on The Money Show, Richard Sutton, author of Shift Happens says there many lessons in the book, mainly centred around finding clarity, meaning and purpose in what you do.

"...we assume that stress is bad, but the reality is that all great things in our lives actually come from stress, and stress actually brings about in many respects, superpowers that exist within us."

- Richard Sutton, author - Shift Happens

"It doesnt dismiss or diminish how tough the world is or how tough life is, but really up-resources you for one, so that one is equipped to find one's path and ultimately arrive at one's destination."

- Richard Sutton, author - Shift Happens

"The best version of one's self, that version that we want to be is brought about by a little bit of stress in our lives, where we push beyond what we're comfortable doing."

- Richard Sutton, author - Shift Happens

Scroll to the top of the article to listen to the full interview.