For the Finnish people, sisu has a mystical, almost magical meaning, more than a word, it is an injection of energy and courage that permeates the cultural heritage of these peoples, if its is willpower, determination, perseverance and, above all, resilience. It is almost as if it were the backbone of a people who have the best remedy against adversity in this word.
One thing that is always invigorating and enriching is to immerse yourself in cultures other than our own to learn, to reflect on various terms that, after all, share common roots that are familiar to all of us. Sisu, which shapes this resilient attitude that inspires us so much and that we try to apply in our daily lives.
- The origin of this word is something very special for Finns.
- So much so that today in Finland you can find Sisu cars.
- Armored vehicles.
- The icebreaker MS Sisu and even a brand of high-tasting bullets to relieve coughing.
- Point out that in Antarctica there is a mountain of the same name in honor of Veikka Gustafsson.
- A Finnish mountaineer.
- Who named it in the 1990s.
Sisu is a backpack in which you carry your heart to carry the courage we so desperately need to face the difficulties of daily life, so it is not a one-off strategy, it is not a patch or alternative remedy for a moment of despair. Finns see this attitude as a philosophy of life, like a psychic tendon that must be exercised every day.
On November 30, 1939, the Soviet Union declared war on Finland, exactly three months after the start of World War II. This battle is one of the most admired and studied in the history books: it lasted only 105 days and represented a real disaster army for the Russians.
The call? The Winter War was, at first glance, a real lost battle for the Finns. They had few soldiers (most of them uniforms only) compared to the 2. 5 million Red Army soldiers.
The Russian combat machinery, with its powerful tanks and sophisticated aircraft, certainly joined the battalion of men. Everything seemed to indicate that Finland would soon be burned down and conquered a land, but the Soviets did not have the intrepid Finnish character. after a word emerged among the Finnish soldiers it served as a motivating key and, in turn, an invocation of the warrior spirit. The magic word was “sisu”.
This term served to feed courage and non-recapitulation, to ward off fear, feed determination, expel insecurity and regain strength when, apparently, everything seemed lost. History books comment that if the Soviets fell it was because of the harsh winter and dense forests where they could not orient themselves.
Perhaps so, but analysts know that something very special happened in this war: soldiers and the population partnered strategically, they created small attack groups that caused a huge panic. Is that when the so-called “Finnish winter spirit”?or “Sisu”.
This attitude demonstrated by the Finns encompasses 5 wonderful areas that deserve to be analyzed in more detail: the muscle of psychological, motivational and personal growth that together constitute a strategy in which we must invest our time and our will in our daily lives to develop it. .
Learn more about them
Every complex moment forces us to pay attention to everything around us, in order to use all our personal resources in a time of difficulty or challenge, it is necessary to adequately manage the stress.
On the other hand, we must not forget that, although stress is the mechanism that helps us focus our efforts in a given situation, it must always be under control to be used for our benefit.
Perseverance is an exceptional value: it gives us the ability to be thoughtful, creative and determined, it is also the ability to get rid of thoughts that we meditate on or that exhaust us to channel all our energy into the important, in what can do us good.
“Life isn’t just about having good cards in your hand, it’s about playing well with a bad hand. – Robert Louis Stevenson-
Sisu is a term that gives us strength and value arbitrarily, leads us to always act in harmony with our values and essences, to be faithful to our roots, honest with our principles and our needs, so we face an attitude that invites us to implement true human quality.
When finnish soldiers defeated the Russians, they were not only proud of the victory, having defeated such a strong and powerful enemy, these 105 days allowed them to acquire a series of knowledge that were printed on the word sisu and which, in turn, were passed on to later generations.
This war has been a real lesson in resilience: because it is not enough to have the courage to emerge triumphantly from a difficult situation, nor is it enough to survive it, what counts above all is to leave a situation like this strengthened and transform it. in a reserve of exceptional vital knowledge.
Having a life project, defining ideals, creating goals for the future and having consistent hopes in the heart is certainly a person with a “Sisu” spirit, so whenever complicated moments put us to the test, nothing will have as much effect as directing. our inner compass to guide us to this north where our precious strengths, values and identities reside.
To conclude, by the way we managed to prove, “Sisu?It is almost a call to life, it is the enhancer of psychological dimensions that makes us much more capable of any challenge, stronger and more dignified beings” Who understand something as basic as the fact that happiness is not suddenly enough or disappears, it is something that must be conquered, something that we must fight for every day.