SISU Is Within you
The Finnish factor to Life, Love, and Success
Quite simply, SISU is a word to live your life by. Its abridged meaning would be stated as “To be courageous and never back down.” The word itself cannot be translated directly into any other language around the World, but its meaning can be very well understood. SISU comes from Finland, which coincidently happens to make up better than 50% of my heritage and has long been talked about at family gatherings, from funerals to weddings, sporting events to schoolwork. The word SISU is synonymous with strength of will, determination, perseverance, fortitude, stamina, courage, drive, ferocity, tenacity, guts, gumption, bravery, persistence, grit. Just to name a few.
Most recently, an uncle of mine passed away and at the memorial service, all of his surviving siblings wanted the pastor to talk about this word and what it means to have it coursing through you veins. The Finns would argue that they are the only ones to have it, meaning, if you are not of Finnish heritage, you couldn’t possibly have it, and I disagree. SISU describes a somewhat indescribable superpower if you will. It is a power that enables individuals to push through hardships when they thought they would never make it. It is the embodiment of people everywhere who defy the odds and hold onto hope when there is nothing else to grasp onto.
SISU can bring you through the most impossible situations with near impossible odds. Just when you thought you had reached your physical or mental limitations SISU kicks in a carries you through the proverbial finish line. This entire mindset if you will, applies to all areas of your life, from playing sports to relationships, from spiritual wellbeing to financial goals and aspirations, from performing better at you job to locking down the best grades in your class. And if you use SISU when trying to find balance between the 7 dimensions of wellness, you are practically unstoppable. In fact, you are unstoppable. SISU is all about adopting and action mentality or mindset. Adapt, move forward, and overcome.
Basically, you can adopt the SISU mentality and overcome anything. Can you think of a time in your life when adopting this mindset has helped you, or would have helped you? Or are you going through something in your life right now and you could use a little SISU?