What is sisu?

I was in the middle of a challenging group workout in the South Florida heat, a Nicki Minaj song playing over the loudspeaker. It was that critical middle point that comes when you’re doing something difficult, that moment when you can’t see the end yet and you’re stuck in how impossible everything feels right now. I was tired and I wanted to give up. From the looks on the faces of those around me, so did everyone else. 

Suddenly our coach’s voice rang out above the music and the sound of barbells. “SISU!”, he yelled, going on to explain that the moment when you want to give up is the moment that you need to find your sisu. 

Sisu is defined in one book on the subject as “a unique type of fortitude, of resilience, of not giving up in the face of challenge, big or small.” And though my mother hails from northern Finland, I had never heard of it. Research told me that as a concept, sisu dates back to the 1500s and is often cited as the national ethos of Finland, a country that consistently tops the charts for world happiness (four years running!), education outcomes, technological innovation, and health outcomes. While we certainly can’t attribute all of these outcomes to sisu, it seems that this mindset has led to incredible innovation among the Finnish people.  

As Cultivators, we deal in the difficult. To make a change within an organization, you can’t give up when the going gets tough. And sometimes, let’s face it…the going gets really tough. To make it through the challenges we face at work and beyond, we often need to hone our tenacity. Cultivators and sisu are natural partners in that everyone can develop sisu, but not everyone does, just as everyone can take the initiative to move towards change, but not everyone chooses to.

Now I want to be clear, I am not suggesting you use sisu to push past boundaries (yours or someone else’s) or to make choices that don’t support your personal goals. Sisu is also not a call to “push through” systemic inequities…there are real barriers that require structural change, beyond individual behavior change. What I am saying is that sisu has lessons to teach Cultivators about moving through difficult things with our integrity intact.

What can Cultivators learn from the Finnish concept of Sisu?

1. A setback doesn’t mean an end.

In 1972, Finnish Olympic runner Lasse Virén suffered a fall during the 10,000m sprint event. With the whole world watching, running against the best athletes in the world, no one would have blamed him for counting himself out after the fall. But Virén didn’t give up, he got up. He went on to not only win the gold medal but to set a new world record in the 10,000m event! We all have moments when the thing we are trying to do seems absolutely impossible or like it isn’t even worth trying. While we can’t always expect a gold medal or a perfect outcome, we don’t have to let setbacks take us completely out of the running. (See what I did there?) 

Take Action: Practice Resilience. When unexpected obstacles trip you up, what do you do? Let these moments be fertile ground for changing your approach, instead of giving up.

2. Use the terrain to your advantage.

In 1939, the Soviet Union and Finland went to war. What was immediately apparent was that Finland’s forces were incredibly outmatched. The Soviet army was roughly the size of 62% of the total Finnish population and was one of the world’s great military forces. But the Soviet Union had not accounted for sisu. Less than a year and a half later, the Soviets signed a peace treaty with Finland. How did a tiny country hold off one of the world’s great military forces? By using their terrain to their advantage. Finnish soldiers wore white uniforms and snow skis to camouflage themselves in the northern winter, and to move swiftly and quietly on icy terrain. They used what they knew: Their land and their weather, to their advantage, increasing the effectiveness of their comparatively small numbers.  

Take Action: Leverage Your Strengths. What are your greatest strengths? What knowledge do you have that you don’t get a chance to use often in your work? Make a list, and think about how you can bring your unique mix of skills and strengths to bear on a current challenge or project you’re working on. 

3. Seek out everyday discomfort.

Cultivating sisu, like building any skill, takes practice and dedication. You have to keep pushing yourself a bit out of your comfort zone. In Finland, perhaps the best and most widely known example of everyday discomfort is ice swimming. While it might sound incredibly unpleasant, ice swimming has been shown to help reduce blood pressure, build immunity, and trigger the brain’s endorphins which increases your resistance to discomfort and battles depression. Now ice swimming might not be accessible or appealing to you, and that’s okay. Think of it as a metaphor for being willing to cultivate our resilience amidst discomfort. Again, this isn’t a call to ignore our boundaries or burn ourselves out, rather, it’s about learning how to push through the difficult challenges that often come with life and work and can stand in the way of our goals.

Take Action: Build your capacity. What is something you find both necessary and uncomfortable? Schedule some time in your calendar this week to finish something you’ve been avoiding. Eat that frog, and then congratulate yourself for working through the discomfort! (And if you decide to try ice swimming, please consult with your healthcare provider first and read up on the necessary safety precautions!)

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In a way, that workout in the South Florida heat couldn’t have been farther from ice swimming in Finland. But both are about embracing something difficult in an effort to build resilience and inner strength so that you can move through challenges with integrity, without letting them derail you from your goals. So, next time you’re trying to make a change, and you hit a roadblock or you’re not sure how you will keep going… Sisu on, Cultivator! 

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