Shift: Managing Your Emotions—So They Don’t Manage You by Ethan Kross presents a science-based guide for turning emotions into allies rather than adversaries. Kross explains that emotions aren’t inherently good or bad, but powerful signals that guide our behavior. He dismantles common myths—like avoidance always being harmful or “living in the moment” being the best strategy—and introduces a flexible approach using “shifters”: tools within ourselves and in the environment that redirect emotional responses toward more positive outcomes.

Over two paragraphs: The first outlines how Kross frames emotions as adaptive intelligence, offering narratives—from a mother’s life‑saving instinct to a Navy SEAL embracing pain—to illustrate emotional mastery. The second highlights practical strategies: internal tools like sensory, attention, and perspective shifters, and external ones like changing environment, relationships, and cultural context. These form a customizable emotional toolkit that builds resilience, improves decision‑making, and enriches life¹.