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