Be Bad, Better

How Not Trying So Hard Will Set You Free

By: Rebecca Seal

Narrated by: Rebecca Seal

You do not have to be good.

At some point, you'll have absorbed the message that being good is to be calm, efficient and tidy. Wise and well-meaning people offer to help you become worthy, to be positive and productive and to always say 'yes, I can!' But what if this is wrong? And what if some of the things we've been told are bad, are just as useful as the good?

Blending science, expert interviews and practical advice, here is the flipside of everything we've been told we should be – and how the bad parts are really not so bad after all. You'll discover:

– Why it's helpful to feel angry

– How it's counterproductive to always be productive

– How laziness can improve your relationships

– Why your body is, and has always been, absolutely fine

– How clutter inspires creativity and enhances your sense of place

– Why mindlessness is good for your mental health

Be Bad, Better is not an invitation to start misbehaving but it is about taking what you think are your worst bits and asking what they could do to serve you.

©2023 Rebecca Seal. The poem ‘Wild Geese’ on page 1 is taken from Dream Work copyright 1986 by Mary Oliver. Used by permission of Grove/Atlantic, Inc. Any third party use of this material, outside of this publication is prohibited. Quote from EClinicalMedicine, Vol 47, Adrian Brown, Stuart W. Flint, Rachel L. Batterham, Pervasiveness, Impact and Implications of Weight Stigma, Copyright 2022, from The Lancet, with permission from Elsevier (P)2025 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

'... powerful, freeing, thought provoking ... This is an invitation to stop labelling our behaviours and emotions as 'good' or 'bad', so that we might find compassion and transformative acceptance of all that lies in between.' (Anna Mathur, author of Raising a Happier Mother)

'Calmly and systematically unpicking the notion of "goodness" (especially in girls and women), Seal explores how being "angry, sad, messy, tired, soft and round" is not only fine but actually can boost all aspects of our lives from our imaginations to our relationships.' (Stylist)

'Invites us to ditch the "new year, new you" resolutions, and consider how they can have a positive effect on our lives ... This is an antidote for anyone feeling burnt out from trying to always "do better.' (Psychologies)