In this episode, I talk about something I see constantly in high performers and leaders: burnout doesn’t always come from failure or chaos, it often shows up when things are going well. More opportunity, more responsibility, more visibility can quietly outpace our internal capacity.

I break down what psychology calls role strain, why doing more discipline or optimization won’t fix it, and how emotional honesty and clarity are what actually expand your ability to handle life.

This conversation is about learning what truly drains you, building internal reinforcement, and creating capacity that grows with your success instead of collapsing under it.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• People often crack when success outpaces internal capacity
  
  
• Capacity does not expand through pressure, but through recovery and repetition
  
  
• Emotional labor drains more energy than physical work
  
  
• Suppressing feelings and constant self-monitoring exhausts the nervous system
  
  
• Handling your life is about clarity, not toughness
  
  
• Knowing what actually drains you is more important than what should drain you
  
  
• Emotional literacy prevents burnout more than emotional armor
  
  
• Speaking sooner and deciding cleaner protects your energy
  
  
• Clarity reduces friction and preserves capacity
  
  
• Internal reinforcement must grow alongside external success

Links and Resources:

Follow Terri-Ann Richards: https://terriannrichards.com/

The Happy Stack Newsletter: https://happystack.substack.com/

Success Takes Courage Book: https://a.co/d/dgOqpbj

If this episode helped you rethink why success sometimes feels heavier instead of lighter, share it with someone who’s carrying more than they realize.

Subscribe to The Happy Stack Podcast so you don’t miss future conversations on building a life that actually feels sustainable.

• (00:00:01) - How to Raise Your Confidence

In this episode, I explore a truth many high performers live but rarely name: ambition can coexist with healing—but only if your nervous system isn’t stuck in survival.

I unpack why staying busy often becomes a coping mechanism, how success can mask unresolved stress, and why waiting to “pause life” to heal doesn’t actually work.

This conversation is about learning how to regulate while moving, finish the stress cycle in real time, and build a life where ambition doesn’t come at the cost of your body, relationships, or peace.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• You don’t need to stop performing to heal—you need to regulate while you move
  
  
• Ambition often becomes a strategy to outrun discomfort and unresolved stress
  
  
• A dysregulated nervous system keeps success from ever feeling safe or satisfying
  
  
• Healing doesn’t require retreat; it requires awareness and completion
  
  
• Finishing the stress cycle is essential for long-term resilience
  
  
• Productivity can coexist with regulation when safety is restored
  
  
• Your body doesn’t need less drive—it needs more recovery signals
  
  
• Healing in motion prevents burnout without killing momentum

Links and Resources:

Follow Terri-Ann Richards: https://terriannrichards.com/

The Happy Stack Newsletter: https://happystack.substack.com/

Success Takes Courage Book: https://a.co/d/dgOqpbj

If this episode helped you see your ambition differently, share it with someone who’s succeeding on the outside but struggling on the inside.

Subscribe to The Happy Stack Podcast and choose one way this week to finish your stress cycle instead of pushing through it.

• (00:00:01) - How to Stake Out a Happy Life
• (00:06:41) - How to Shorten Your Stress Cycle

In this episode, I unpack one of the most uncomfortable truths I’ve had to learn in my own leadership and life: boundaries aren’t about keeping people out, they’re about keeping me intact.

I explore why high performers struggle to say no, how people-pleasing becomes a survival strategy, and why guilt shows up the moment we start prioritising ourselves. I also break down the science behind boundaries, the nervous system, and why clarity is one of the kindest things we can offer ourselves and others.

If you’ve been running on empty, giving more than you have, or feeling resentful and drained, this one will hit home.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Boundaries aren’t walls — they’re vulnerability in action.
  
  
• Saying yes when you mean no teaches people your needs don’t matter.
  
  
• Healthy boundaries make relationships stronger, not weaker.
  
  
• Guilt isn’t a sign you’re doing something wrong — it’s a sign you’re healing old patterns.
  
  
• The nervous system stabilizes when you communicate clearly and stop overextending.
  
  
• Boundaries must be proactive, not reactive.
  
  
• People may resist your boundaries at first, especially if they benefited from your lack of them.
  
  
• You need internal boundaries just as much as external ones.
  
  
• Clear communication prevents resentment, burnout, and emotional leakage.
• Protecting your energy is not selfish — it’s leadership.

Links and Resources:

Follow Terri-Ann Richards: https://terriannrichards.com/

The Happy Stack Newsletter: https://happystack.substack.com/

Success Takes Courage Book: https://a.co/d/dgOqpbj

If this episode gave you the nudge or clarity you’ve been needing, share it with someone who’s overdue for a boundary reset.

And if you haven’t yet, subscribe so you never miss a new episode of The Happy Stack Podcast.

• (00:00:01) - The Happy Stack Podcast
• (00:00:33) - Why Boundaries Are So Hard to Get
• (00:07:17) - Setting Boundaries for Yourself
• (00:09:00) - Setting Boundaries for Your Relationships
• (00:10:22) - Happy Stack: Stacking Wins

You can have a full calendar, a thriving career, a buzzing group chat—and still feel completely alone.

In this episode of The Happy Stack Podcast, I unpack what I call Connection Deficit Disorder: the silent, invisible loneliness high performers experience while looking “successful” on the outside.

I break down the neuroscience of disconnection, why high achievers default to surface-level relationships, and how emotional isolation silently fuels anxiety, burnout, and self-doubt.

More importantly, I walk you through five practical steps to rebuild real connection—the kind that nourishes your nervous system, grounds your identity, and reminds you that you’re human, not a machine.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• You can be surrounded by people and still feel profoundly unseen

• Chronic loneliness impacts your physical health as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day

• High performers often confuse connection with exposure and interaction with intimacy

• Disconnection pushes your nervous system into chronic vigilance and burnout

• Five steps to start healing Connection Deficit Disorder:

  1. Stop confusing connection with exposure—vulnerability belongs with the right people

  2. Shift from networking to nurturing—prioritize depth over volume

  3. Redefine intimacy—presence and small moments matter more than deep talks

  4. Practice small courage—tiny acts of honesty rebuild safety

  5. Build connection rituals—consistency creates belonging

Links and Resources:

Follow Terri-Ann Richards: https://terriannrichards.com/

The Happy Stack Newsletter: https://happystack.substack.com/

Success Takes Courage Book: https://a.co/d/dgOqpbj

If this episode hit home, don’t keep it to yourself—reach out to someone you care about and let them know the real you.

Share the episode with someone who might be feeling disconnected, subscribe to the show, and choose one small act of honest connection this week. One moment of realness can shift everything.

• (00:00:01) - Why You're More Connected Than Ever
• (00:07:03) - How to Build a Connection of Meaning
• (00:09:40) - Step 2, I want you to shift from networking to nurturing
• (00:15:22) - Happy Stack: How to Connect With People

You can have the goals, the plans, the vision—but if you don’t trust yourself to follow through, none of it sticks.

In this episode of The Happy Stack Podcast, I dive into why self-trust is the real foundation of confidence, consistency, and success.

I break down the neuroscience behind why we stop believing our own promises, how prediction errors erode motivation, and what it actually takes to rebuild trust with yourself. If you’re tired of saying “this time will be different” and not believing it, this episode will change how you move.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Most people don’t have a strategy problem—they have a self-trust problem
  
  
• Every broken promise creates a “prediction error” that teaches your brain not to believe you
  
  
• Confidence comes from competence, and competence comes from repetition
  
  
• High achievers excel at keeping promises to others—while betraying themselves
  
  
• Five ways to rebuild self-trust:
  
  

1. Lower the bar — Start with micro-promises you can actually keep
   
2. Stop outsourcing validation — Your choices must align with your values
   
3. Repair, don’t punish — Guilt doesn’t build trust; reflection does
   
4. Create proof rituals — Track small daily wins to rebuild evidence
   
5. Align goals with values — Misalignment erodes trust; alignment restores it

Links and Resources:

Follow Terri-Ann Richards: https://terriannrichards.com/

The Happy Stack Newsletter: https://happystack.substack.com/

Success Takes Courage Book: https://a.co/d/dgOqpbj

If this episode hit home, share it with someone who’s rebuilding trust in themselves too.

Subscribe, leave a review, and choose one small promise you can keep today—because trust isn’t built in big moments. It’s built in the quiet ones, when no one is watching but you.

• (00:00:01) - How to Raise Your Self-Trust
• (00:02:14) - The Secret to Success Is Self-Trust
• (00:09:29) - Step 1, Stop Expecting Personal Validation
• (00:11:21) - How to Build More Trust in Yourself
• (00:14:10) - Step 5: Integrate Your Values into Your Goals

If you’ve ever felt like you’re constantly on edge—snapping at people, running on fumes, and trying to “push through”—you’re not broken. You’re just stuck in survival mode.

In this episode of The Happy Stack Podcast, I dive deep into how your nervous system drives your reactions, your emotions, and even your ambition.

I’ll unpack why calm feels so uncomfortable for high performers, how chronic stress rewires your brain, and what it really takes to move from reactivity to peace.

This is not about slowing down your life—it’s about regulating your energy so you can finally feel safe in your own calm.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Most people aren’t living their life—they’re reacting to it

• Constant stress keeps your brain trapped in fight-or-flight mode

• Calm can feel foreign when your nervous system has normalized chaos

• Awareness is the first step to shifting from reaction to response

• Five simple steps to rewire for calm:

  1. Notice physical cues—tight chest, shallow breath, racing heart

  2. Pause and self-reassure: “I’m safe. I’m good.”

  3. Rebuild your baseline—teach your body that stillness is safe

  4. Create micro-pauses throughout your day to reset your nervous system

  5. Redefine productivity—rest fuels better ideas and clarity

Links and Resources:

Follow Terri-Ann Richards: https://terriannrichards.com/

The Happy Stack Newsletter: https://happystack.substack.com/

Success Takes Courage Book: https://a.co/d/dgOqpbj

If this episode hit home, share it with someone who’s been living in fight-or-flight without realizing it.

Subscribe, leave a review, and try one nervous system reset today—because the real measure of growth isn’t how much you can juggle, it’s how grounded you can stay while juggling it.

• (00:00:01) - The Happy Stack Podcast
• (00:00:34) - How to Stop Living On An Airplane
• (00:07:21) - How to Stop Living on Fight or Flight
• (00:15:09) - The Happy Stack: How to Stop Reacting So Often

If your calendar is full, your to-do list never ends, and you’re still exhausted at the end of every day—this episode is for you.

In The Happy Stack Podcast, I break down why your issue isn’t time management, it’s energy management. You don’t need another planner, productivity hack, or 4 a.m. routine—you need better boundaries.

I’ll walk you through the real reasons you’re running on empty, the hidden energy leaks stealing your focus, and five practical ways to protect your most valuable resource: your capacity.

Because when you start managing energy instead of minutes, everything changes.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Time management fails when your emotional and mental capacity are depleted

• Energy leaks are subtle but costly—like people-pleasing, emotional overfunctioning, or attending unneeded meetings

• Boundaries aren’t walls—they’re filters that protect your attention and energy

• You only have 3–4 hours of peak cognitive performance each day—use them wisely

• Five energy management shifts:

  1. Do a capacity check before saying yes

  2. Identify and eliminate your energy thieves

  3. Add buffer zones between commitments

  4. Set emotional labor boundaries

  5. Protect your peak energy hours like gold

Links and Resources:

Follow Terri-Ann Richards: https://terriannrichards.com/

The Happy Stack Newsletter: https://happystack.substack.com/

Success Takes Courage Book: https://www.amazon.com.au/Success-Takes-Courage-Inside-Out-Achievement-ebook/dp/B0BKWNT142

If this episode made you rethink how you’re spending your time, share it with someone who’s running on fumes.

Subscribe, leave a review, and take five minutes today to protect your energy—it’s your most valuable form of currency.

Let’s keep stacking that happiness, one boundary at a time.

• (00:00:01) - Happy Stack: How to Manage Your Time
• (00:01:09) - Why You're Overwhelmed
• (00:06:14) - How to Protect Your Energy

You can have all the vision boards, routines, and goals in the world—but if your nervous system doesn’t feel safe, none of it will stick.

In this episode of The Happy Stack Podcast, I unpack why your body’s need for safety will always override your brain’s drive for success.

We’ll dive into how chronic stress, perfectionism, and overachievement rewire your nervous system to equate worth with productivity—and how to start breaking that pattern.

I’ll walk you through simple, science-backed ways to calm your body, align your goals with regulation, and finally create change that lasts.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• You can’t build sustainable success on a dysregulated foundation

• Your nervous system prioritizes familiarity, not success

• High-functioning dysregulation looks like overworking, snapping at your team, people-pleasing, or fidgeting during downtime

• Reactivity is often a nervous system issue—not a character flaw

• Five practical shifts to rewire for calm and progress:

  1. Start with safety, not strategy

  2. Create micro-safe cues throughout your day

  3. Use the 5% edge to stretch without triggering stress

  4. Track success through regulation, not results

  5. Ritualize your wind-down to teach your body closure

Links and Resources:

Follow Terri-Ann Richards: https://terriannrichards.com/

The Happy Stack Newsletter: https://happystack.substack.com/

Success Takes Courage Book: https://www.amazon.com.au/Success-Takes-Courage-Inside-Out-Achievement-ebook/dp/B0BKWNT142

If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who’s been pushing harder instead of pausing deeper.

Subscribe, leave a review, and try one nervous system reset before your next big move.

Remember—regulation isn’t slowing down your success, it’s what makes it sustainable.

• (00:00:01) - The Happy Stack Podcast
• (00:00:33) - Your Nervous System Doesn't Care About Your Productivity H
• (00:07:21) - Five Ways to Align Your Nervous System with Your Goals