'Sam Delaney is a funny, wise and insightful writer, and this book will help lots of people' Johann Hari 'One great big deep breath of a book. A funny, honest, human antidote to "high performance" piffle' Danny Wallace Sam Delaney is no stranger to overdoing it. Working a high-pressure job and fuelled on nothing but adrenaline, various substances and a competitive streak, he often found himself feeling exhausted and suffocated by fantasies of being a 'better' man. He always felt a pressure to be more: strong but sensitive, fun but intellectual, a dedicated father but an elite professional - the list goes on. 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 amusing anecdotes 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 the enemy of boring; 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.