Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
By Lisa Forrest, Allen & Unwin, $29.99.
“Pain’s relationship to reward is the transformer” for change. So says Lisa Forrest, Australian Commonwealth Games dual gold medalist in swimming.
Her insightful story endeavours to take the panic out of modern living. It’s a unique story set to inspire you, offering candid insights that will remove the dread out of life. Why is it that no matter what you achieve it is never enough? Such was the case with Lisa.
Forrest had a favourite motto. She was just 13 when she was introduced to When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
“Oh, how I loved that motto! The thrill of the challenge. The curiosity, the determination, the anticipation that stirred inside me when my coach wrote a testing swim set on the blackboard were enough to give me goosebumps. It might sound weird to you, but I loved training hard and I loved the rewards: the praise from my coach, of course, but, even more, the competitive advantage.”
From her years in elite sport she was surprised to find that it was the ‘get tough’ mottos that were the source of her problem. With ‘tough’ now synonymous with ‘resilience’, it’s the source of much of the illness, burnout and mental health challenges we all face today.
There’s a “toxic resident in minds throughout our society” that’s debilitating those who feel what they have is never enough. It is important to learn how to be “satisfied with the number of goals one has kicked rather than constantly feeling that you need to kick more”.
What is even more surprising is the antidote: self-compassion. Having experienced it all, the merging of wisdom from a broad range of sources results in Glide offering exceptional cognizance.
“It’s my hope that by the end of this book I will have convinced you that a combination of mindfulness, self-compassion and compassion is all you need to get on your own side – and to help others get on theirs. And when we can all do that, we’ll glide through life’s challenges.”