Sisu: The Finnish Recipe For Difficult Times

For the Finnish population, the word sisu  has a mystical, almost magical meaning. More than a term, it is an injection of energy and courage that remains steeped in its own cultural legacy. Sisu  is willpower, determination, perseverance and, above all, resilience. It can be defined as the backbone of a population that finds in this word the best remedy against adversity. 

It is always invigorating and satisfying to immerse ourselves in cultures different from ours to learn, to reflect in different terms which, after all, share common roots familiar to all. Sisu , (pronounced see’-soo) gives shape to that resilient attitude that is so familiar to us, that inspires us and that we try to adopt in our daily life.

The origin of this word is very special to the Finns. It is to such an extent that nowadays in this country we can find Sisu brand cars, armored vehicles, the MS Sisu ice pick and even a strong flavored cough candy brand. We cannot forget that in Antarctica there is a mountain with this same name, because it was first climbed, in the 90s, by the Finnish mountaineer Veikka Gustafsson.

Sisu is a backpack to carry in your heart to make use of that courage that we often need to face daily difficulties. It is therefore not a strategy to be adopted in specific circumstances, it is not a patch or a generic drug for a moment of despair. The Finns take this attitude as a philosophy of life, as a psychic muscle to be exercised every day.

Sisu : an untranslatable word with a well-defined past

On November 30, 1939, the Soviet Union declared war on Finland, three months after the start of World War II. This conflict was one of the most admired and studied in the history books: it lasted just 105 days and represented a real military disaster for the Russians.

The so-called “Winter War” was, at first glance, a losing battle for the Finns, who had very few soldiers at their disposal (most weren’t even wearing uniforms) compared to the 2.5 million soldiers they had. the red army.

The Soviet battalion was joined, of course, by its war machines, its powerful tanks and its sophisticated aircraft. It all seemed to portend that Finland would soon be on fire, but the Soviets had underestimated the fierce Finnish character. It was then that the Finnish soldiers coined a word that served them as a source of motivation and innovation to their warrior spirit. The magic word was sisu.

This term helped them fuel courage, not surrender; to escape from fear, fuel determination, escape insecurity and find strength when, apparently, everything was lost. The history books report that the Soviets fell due to the harsh winter and the thick woods among which they were unable to find their way.

Maybe so, but analysts know that something very special happens in that war: the soldiers and the people allied themselves strategically, created small attack groups that sowed a terrible panic among the Russian ranks. It was then that the so-called “Finnish winter spirit” or “Sisu” emerged.

The 5 components of Sisu

This attitude shown by the Finns structure 5 wonderful areas that are worth analyzing in detail.  The psychological, motivational and personal growth muscle, which constitute a whole, undoubtedly profile a strategy in which we should invest time and will every day, so as to develop it to the maximum.

We suggest you take note:

Adequate stress management

Every complex moment requires us to be attentive and perceptive towards everything that surrounds us. In order to bring out all our personal resources in the face of a difficulty, a challenge or a threat, we must know how to manage stress adequately.

We cannot forget, in fact, that although stress is a mechanism that helps us to focus our efforts in the face of a difficult situation, it must always be kept under control and in our favor.

Perseverance

Perseverance is an exceptional value: it gives us the ability to be thoughtful, creative and determined. It also allows us to placate ruminative or exhausting thoughts to focus all our energy on what is important, on what we can benefit from.

Honesty

Sisu is not a term that injects strength and courage into us arbitrarily, but pushes us to always act in harmony with our values ​​and our essence, to be whole with our roots, honest with our principles and needs. We are therefore faced with an attitude that invites us to put into practice an authentic human quality.

Resilience

When the Finnish soldiers defeated the Russians, they were not only proud of the victory, of having beaten such a cruel, so powerful enemy. Those 105 days also represented a life lesson that remained etched in the word sisu , which they then passed on to subsequent generations.

That war was a real lesson in resilience: because it is not enough to be strong to triumph in a critical situation, it is not even enough to survive it, the most important aspect is to come out stronger and be repositories of exceptional vital knowledge.  

The fixing of certain ideals and certain goals

Having a life project, defining oneself with certain ideals, having a goal on the horizon and solid ambitions in the heart, all this defines the person with the sisu spirit . Consequently, whenever those complicated moments arise that love to test us, the ideal will be to calibrate our inner compass to orient us towards that north where our strength, our values ​​and our courageous identity lie.

To conclude, and as we could have guessed,  sisu is almost a proclamation to life, it is the appreciation of those psychological dimensions  that make us people much better suited to face any challenge and stronger and more worthy beings who understand that happiness, basic as ‘is, it neither comes nor disappears, we must conquer it, fight for it every day.