Sisu: The Finnish Answer To Difficult Times
For the Finnish people, ‘sisu’ has a mystical meaning. More than a word, it is a special energy and courage that is embedded in their culture. ‘ Sisu’ is willpower, determination, perseverance and above all resilience. This is almost like the backbone of a nation, their answer to adversity.
It is always exciting and enriching to immerse ourselves in other cultures to learn more about them. We can think about different concepts that are all ultimately familiar to us.
Sisu (pronounced sie-soe) expresses that particular resilient attitude that resonates with us. It is that feeling that inspires us and something we try to apply in our daily lives.
The origin of this word is very special for the Finns. In fact, you can even find Sisu-branded cars, armored vehicles, and the icebreaker MS Sisu. It is even a brand of highly flavored cough drops. In Antarctica there is also a mountain of the same name. Finnish mountaineer Veikka Gustafsson reached the summit in the 1990s.
Sisu is something to carry in our hearts, to help us and give us the courage we need. Therefore, it is not a specific strategy, band-aid or general medicine for difficult times. The Finns adopt this attitude as a philosophy of life. They see it as a psychological muscle to train daily.
Sisu, an untranslatable word with a very specific past
On November 30, 1939, the Soviet Union declared war on Finland, just three months after the outbreak of World War II. This conflict is one of the most admired and widely studied wars in history books. It lasted barely 105 days and was a true military disaster for the Russians.
The so-called Winter War was, on the face of it, really a lost cause for the Finns. This is because they had very few soldiers (the majority did not even have uniforms) compared to the 2.5 million soldiers of the Red Army.
In addition to this battalion, they had the Russian fighting machines, with its powerful tanks and sophisticated aircraft. Everything indicated that Finland would soon become a devastated, conquered country.
But what the Russians did not expect was the brave Finnish spirit. It was then that a certain word arose among the Finnish soldiers that motivated them and nourished their warrior spirit. The magic word was ‘sisu’.
This word kindled a fire in them to be brave and not to surrender. To give way to fear, to be determined, to take away all uncertainty and bring out their strength when all seemed to be lost.
History books say that the Soviets fell because of a harsh winter and dense, disorienting forests. This may be true, but analysts know that something very special happened in that war. The soldiers and people formed strategic allegiances and created small attack groups that spread terror and fear in the Russian lines.
That is when the so-called ‘spirit of the Finnish winter’ or ‘sisu’ was born.
