Shift

Managing Your Emotions—So They Don't Manage You

De: Ethan Kross

Narrado por: Ethan Kross

“A revolutionary guide to mastering your emotional life.”—Charles Duhigg

“Brilliant, engaging, and deeply insightful.”—Lisa Damour

“A blueprint for navigating the emotional curveballs that life throws at us every day.”—The New York Times

INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER • One of Oprah Daily’s Best Self-Help Books for Personal Growth in 2025, Next Big Idea Club’s Highly Anticipated Books, and Adam Grant’s 10 New Books to Feed Your Mind

A myth-busting, science-based guide that addresses the timeless question of how to manage your emotional life using tools you already possess—from the bestselling author of Chatter.

Whether it’s anxiety about going to the doctor, boiling rage when we’re stuck in traffic, or devastation after a painful break-up, our lives are filled with situations that send us spiraling. But as difficult as our emotions can be, they are also a superpower. Far from being “good” or “bad,” emotions are information. When they’re activated in the right ways and at the right time, they function like an immune system, alerting us to our surroundings, telling us how to react to a situation, and helping us make the right choices.

But how do we make our emotions work for us rather than against us? Acclaimed psychologist Dr. Ethan Kross has devoted his scientific career to answering this question. In Shift, he dispels common myths—for instance, that avoidance is always toxic or that we should always strive to live in the moment—and provides a new framework for shifting our emotions so they don’t take over our lives.

Shift weaves groundbreaking research with riveting stories of people struggling and succeeding to manage their emotions—from a mother whose fear prompted her to make a spur-of-the-moment decision that would save her daughter’s life mid-flight to a nuclear code-carrying Navy SEAL who learned how to embrace both joy and pain during a hellish training activity. Dr. Kross spotlights a wide array of tools that we already have access to—in our bodies and minds, our relationships with other people, and the cultures and physical spaces we inhabit—and shows us how to harness them to be healthier and more successful.

Filled with actionable advice, cutting-edge research, and riveting stories, Shift puts the power back into our hands, so we can control our emotions without them controlling us—and help others do the same.

©2025 Ethan Kross (P)2025 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“[Shift] puts the problem of overreaction in a new light.”—The New Yorker

“Illuminating . . . this will be a boon to readers looking to take better charge of their inner lives.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“This book does much more than make sense of emotions—it breaks new ground on how to manage them. Ethan Kross has done something remarkable: he’s written a page-turner that’s grounded in science and filled with practical insights. If you think you can’t control what you feel, he’s about to make you think twice.”—Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and host of the podcast Re:Thinking

I needed this more than I ever thought.

I will recommend to everyone I can. I stumbled upon this after listening to Ethan's first book and both came at a huge emotional point for. I utilized tips here and from his other book to better handle what I have gone through and am still going through. now to use WOOP for some goals I keep stumbling on.

Emotions are contagious- we can make a positive difference when we SHIFT!

Loved this book! A great reminder with real-life examples, science and research that we have the power to shift our emotional state. It’s ok to feel a variety of emotions- it’s what we do when we have them that matters. A great book for leaders and entrepreneurs who are faced with their own emotions and those of others everyday. Having this book as your guide to SHIFT can be game changing in life and in business!

Emotional control

There were many real life examples that helped the reader relate to the main points.

Tools

When I listen to an audiobook, I have a couple of expectations. One is a like a good narrator and I think the author is the best person to do that if they are able. This book was narrated well. I also like to pick up a good tool or two to put in my toolbox. I picked up several in this book. While there’s no shocking panacea or aha moment, nor were there comments that are gonna absolutely change your life, there are plenty of good tools. If we can just implement one or two things in our experience, I think it’s worth it. I enjoyed this book and didn’t find it laborious whatsoever. Learning to regulate your emotions is now more important than it’s ever been. I think Ethan Kross is a very wise man and will learn more as he goes and I’m sure they’ll be more books coming.

Wow!

I feel like I can do this! I’ve always been a highly emotional and easily triggered person. It has cost me some of my very closest relationships. The method in this book will actually work for me, and I’m going to teach it to my second graders.

Concepts that are right in front of us but we can’t see

The thesis that one of our biggest challenges as a human race is managing our emotions has a strong basis, and Ethan provides a solid argument.

While some of the insights felt simplistic, the book was well structured and each person who reads it will take different insights away from it. The culture chapter had the greatest business application. The concept that we live in a sea of cultures within cultures unique to us individually is an important recognition of how we coordinate or fail to do so.

Solutions

Personal and comprehensive from beginning to end plenty of people and research focused on important issues and delivering on solutions

Great read and life lessons

Loved his other book and this one may have been better. Great methods and tools to help with dealing with emotions. Give science behind it and then everyday examples to help readers understand

Shift by Ethan Kross — A Practical Guide for Building Emotional Resilience (For Parents, Too)

In Shift, Ethan Kross delivers a compelling blend of neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral strategy that makes the elusive skill of emotional regulation feel both accessible and actionable. For readers already familiar with Kross’s earlier work (Chatter), this latest offering takes the next step—moving from awareness to agency.

As a parent navigating the emotionally charged terrain of adolescence and competitive youth sports, I found Shift particularly resonant. Kross’s techniques—especially his emphasis on “if-then” planning and the WOOP method (Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan)—are grounded in research, but what makes them stand out is their immediate practicality. Rather than offering abstract advice, Kross equips readers with tools that translate seamlessly into high-pressure moments, whether in a boardroom or on the soccer field sidelines.

During a recent round of competitive soccer tryouts, my children and I found ourselves using Kross’s strategies in real time. We crafted simple “if-then” statements like, “If I get nervous before the scrimmage, then I’ll focus on my breathing and reset.” WOOP became a familiar acronym in our household—a shared framework for preparing emotionally and mentally. I even played chapters of the audiobook in the car, turning drive-time into shared learning. The stories sparked meaningful conversations, and it gave my kids language for things they were already feeling but didn’t quite know how to express.

emotional foundation

The authors research and life for that fact prepared him for the development of this materials and book. The content is a knowledgeable look at how we respond to emotional challenges and how to overcome them with a few small but powerful tools.