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Stop Sh*tting Yourself: 15 Life Lessons That Might Help You Calm The F*ck Down
'Fucking great book helped me calm the fuck down - well needed' SHAUN RYDER
'We bottle everything up, then we catastrophise and medicalise it all. But being human is about feeling a little pain, that's where the growth lies. Let's accept we'll all feel bad from time to time and let's air that. If you're looking inject a little healthy perspective into your life, this is a good place to start' IRVINE WELSH
'One great big deep breath of a book. A funny, honest, human antidote to "high performance" piffle' DANNY WALLACE
'Sam Delaney is a funny, wise and insightful writer, and this book will help lots of people' JOHANN HARI
Sam Delaney overdid it for many years. Work, ambition, competitiveness, booze and drugs defined his life until he started to realise that he was burnt out and exhausted by daft fantasies of being a 'better man.' He had always put himself under pressure to be everything at fun but intelligent, tough but sensitive, a dedicated father but an ambitious careerist. But what if there was another way? What if trying to be the perfect version of himself was doing him more harm than good?
In Stop Sh*tting Yourself, Sam dissects our obsession around hyper-productivity and high-performance living and - with his trademark straight-talking charm - offers a much-needed alternative perspective. Drawing on funny stories from his own life, he argues for the importance of sitting around in your pants doing nothing, taking working life with a pinch of salt, putting those impossible standards for yourself in the bin and focussing on the day-to-day things that make you content.
Learn why consistency isn't what it's built up to be; how process is a recipe for boredom; that male friendships in particular should be rooted in fun, not competitiveness; and why self-acceptance always trumps self-improvement.
After all, there's no point sh*tting yourself over nothing.
'We bottle everything up, then we catastrophise and medicalise it all. But being human is about feeling a little pain, that's where the growth lies. Let's accept we'll all feel bad from time to time and let's air that. If you're looking inject a little healthy perspective into your life, this is a good place to start' IRVINE WELSH
'One great big deep breath of a book. A funny, honest, human antidote to "high performance" piffle' DANNY WALLACE
'Sam Delaney is a funny, wise and insightful writer, and this book will help lots of people' JOHANN HARI
Sam Delaney overdid it for many years. Work, ambition, competitiveness, booze and drugs defined his life until he started to realise that he was burnt out and exhausted by daft fantasies of being a 'better man.' He had always put himself under pressure to be everything at fun but intelligent, tough but sensitive, a dedicated father but an ambitious careerist. But what if there was another way? What if trying to be the perfect version of himself was doing him more harm than good?
In Stop Sh*tting Yourself, Sam dissects our obsession around hyper-productivity and high-performance living and - with his trademark straight-talking charm - offers a much-needed alternative perspective. Drawing on funny stories from his own life, he argues for the importance of sitting around in your pants doing nothing, taking working life with a pinch of salt, putting those impossible standards for yourself in the bin and focussing on the day-to-day things that make you content.
Learn why consistency isn't what it's built up to be; how process is a recipe for boredom; that male friendships in particular should be rooted in fun, not competitiveness; and why self-acceptance always trumps self-improvement.
After all, there's no point sh*tting yourself over nothing.
218 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 27, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 12, 2025
He’s right, let’s all calm the fuck down. Genuinely helpful and very funny.
March 22, 2025
A lot of the advice dispensed in “Stop Sh*tting Yourself” – Sam Delaney’s latest self-help manual for blokes – isn’t hugely revelatory or earth-shattering, and could probably be filed under the category of ‘Common Sense’ (if that term hadn’t already been so degraded by right-wing bores and tabloid columnist culture warriors). And there are large sections here that are a lightly disguised rethread of Delaney’s previous book on anxious masculinity (even including some of the very same anecdotes).
But what is refreshing here is that, in attempting to tackle the roots of male anxiety, Sam Delaney takes a commendable stand against the new fad of ‘high performance’, and the kind of relentless, unthinking productivity and robotic self-optimisation touted by the current wave of techbros and influencers. This isn’t so much a denunciation of late capitalism on his part (the uber-laddish Delaney would give such a description the skunk-eye), but it is a welcome celebration of the value of ‘slacking off’ instead of dumb productivity.
What “Stop Sh*tting Yourself” lacks in radical originality is made up for by Sam Delaney’s chummy, likeable presence. Certainly, compared to desiccated productivity bores like Jack Humphrey – to say nothing of misogy-fascists like Andrew Tate - there are far worse figures that young men could be getting advice from than Sam Delaney.
But what is refreshing here is that, in attempting to tackle the roots of male anxiety, Sam Delaney takes a commendable stand against the new fad of ‘high performance’, and the kind of relentless, unthinking productivity and robotic self-optimisation touted by the current wave of techbros and influencers. This isn’t so much a denunciation of late capitalism on his part (the uber-laddish Delaney would give such a description the skunk-eye), but it is a welcome celebration of the value of ‘slacking off’ instead of dumb productivity.
What “Stop Sh*tting Yourself” lacks in radical originality is made up for by Sam Delaney’s chummy, likeable presence. Certainly, compared to desiccated productivity bores like Jack Humphrey – to say nothing of misogy-fascists like Andrew Tate - there are far worse figures that young men could be getting advice from than Sam Delaney.
November 23, 2025
Self help book aimed at workaholic, status conscious men, from an author that has experienced addiction, mental illness and low self esteem. Over 15 chapters it explores different aspects of "men having to prove themselves" and basically encourages them to look at the bigger picture, and relate to what is really important (friends, family, peace). Enjoyable read, although terribly repetitive (as most such books tend to be).
March 4, 2025
I’m not into mental health type books like this but I bought this because I’m a fan of Sam and TFTM and love the anecdotes and his writing but I did genuinely find this helpful and I’d like to thing I’ve actually learned quite a bit about myself and how to just enjoy life more so a big thank you to Sam on that part.
It’s a great book and I’d recommend picking it up.
TTFN
It’s a great book and I’d recommend picking it up.
TTFN
October 13, 2025
Excellent way to look at life and all its problems, love the comedy in the book! nice touch
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews