Sisu Lab

By now researchers have made wonderful strides in mapping the mental and physiological side of human capacity. We understand how muscles grow and endure, how fatigue plays into our vitality, and we also have a plethora of concepts (such as resilience, perseverance, mental toughness, grit and so on) to help us describe the curious landscape of what makes humans endure. What we know less about is the life energy behind this enduring and persevering that becomes visible usually only when we are about to run out of it.... join me for an episode of sisu lab in which I share some words and concepts around the elusive topic of human spirit... elan vital, Wille zum Leben, qi, chi and so on...

Show notes

The Energies of Men William James, The Philosophical Review, Vol. 16, No. 1 (Jan., 1907), pp. 1-20 https://www.jstor.org/stable/2177575

The Energies of Men William James (1914)
https://ia802608.us.archive.org/18/items/energiesofmen00jameiala/energiesofmen00jameiala.pdf

Embodied fortitude: An introduction to the Finnish construct of sisu Authors E E Lahti (2019) https://internationaljournalofwellbeing.org/index.php/ijow/article/view/672

A Wife’s Letter Rabindranath Tagore (1914, Translated from Bengali by Prasenjit Gupta) https://parabaas.com/translation/database/translations/stories/gStreerPatra1.html

Twin Tracks: The Autobiography by Roger Banniste
https://www.amazon.com/Twin-Tracks-Autobiography-Roger-Bannister/dp/184954686X

Työstä ja elinvoima by Prof Eero Riikonen (2013)
http://www.psykologia.fi/arkisto/vanhat-numerot/vanhat-numerot-ghost/283-psykologia-2014-04/kirjat/339-tyosta-elinvoimaa

Support the show

Sisu is a Finnish word for a reserve of inner strength, but it’s also a way to positively impact the world. Cultivating this inner fortitude starts with self-inquiry and getting our self-care in order, and from there, extends into courage and community. Its power ultimately reaches into the world through inspired acts of compassion and positive change.

Thanks for tuning in! Find out more about sisu, explore the research, and check out Gentle Power: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead, and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu (2023) & Sisun alkemia (2025) at www.sisulab.com.

Sisu is great, but sisu, together with love, is greatness.

Sisu speaks of the extra reserves within individuals everywhere to endure challenges and take action against slim odds. However, while sisu denotes extraordinary power to overcome the extraordinary and do the extraordinary, it can also end up creating extraordinary problems. This would most likely happen with mindless sisu that is out of balance, is done at all cost, and happens usually when we are out of touch with our blind spots.

The possible negative outcomes of unbalanced or hard sisu include harm to our mental wellbeing and physical health, as well as to other people and team success. On today's episode, musings on constructive vs unconstructive sisu and an exercise at the end (for the truly brave) to gain understanding of your own sisu and what's its overall impact to people around you.

Stay strong and love even bigger!

Show notes

World Happiness Report
https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2023/

Tim Lomas and cross-cultural research on the determinants of wellbeing
https://www.drtimlomas.com/blank-s59cw

Amy Edmondson's research and trainings on psychological safety
https://amycedmondson.com/psychological-safety/

Harvard Business Review: What Is Psychological Safety? by Amy Gallo
https://hbr.org/2023/02/what-is-psychological-safety

E. Elisabet Lahti: Embodied Fortitude: An Introduction to the Finnish Construct of Sisu at International Journal of Wellbeing 
https://internationaljournalofwellbeing.org/index.php/ijow/article/view/672

Support the show

Sisu is a Finnish word for a reserve of inner strength, but it’s also a way to positively impact the world. Cultivating this inner fortitude starts with self-inquiry and getting our self-care in order, and from there, extends into courage and community. Its power ultimately reaches into the world through inspired acts of compassion and positive change.

Thanks for tuning in! Find out more about sisu, explore the research, and check out Gentle Power: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead, and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu (2023) & Sisun alkemia (2025) at www.sisulab.com.

Sisu is great, but sisu, together with love, is greatness.

Welcome to a new episode in which we muse on how to deal with life's headwinds - and how to do it with less damage and more grace. Take aways from ultra running that apply to everyday life (thanks, fellow adventurer & runner Annastiina Hintsa) and a note on deep-seated humility, as well as making our awareness and body our allies in the process.

For this episode, finally after years of procrastination (not as bad as the Ironman which took 16 years to conquer) I learned to do sound editing and created a start tune. Please listen and give feedback on anything - sound levels, user friendliness, and so on, as this is a  "home-baked" passion project. Tune selected out of numerous is licensed from lovely Dutch composer Evert Zeevalkink, aka, The North (on Spotify), and is called Stand my Ground.

Until next time... may we both sisu and smiles galore <3

Show notes:

Resources on sisu at sisulab. Direct link to podcasts and research: https://www.sisulab.com/blog

Harvard Health: Basic intro to understanding stress response: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response

Support the show

Sisu is a Finnish word for a reserve of inner strength, but it’s also a way to positively impact the world. Cultivating this inner fortitude starts with self-inquiry and getting our self-care in order, and from there, extends into courage and community. Its power ultimately reaches into the world through inspired acts of compassion and positive change.

Thanks for tuning in! Find out more about sisu, explore the research, and check out Gentle Power: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead, and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu (2023) & Sisun alkemia (2025) at www.sisulab.com.

Sisu is great, but sisu, together with love, is greatness.

Dear sisu pilgrim, I hope you are well and held by all the courage ands compassion that makes up your unique you. This episode is a slowing down to feel into...grief; a recognition of that something gentle and sometimes heavy within us, buried deep into the cellular wombs of our experiences and too often bypassed by constant doing and going. I share some of my favourite poems and introduce the concept of "edge emotions" by Drs. Kaisu Mälkki and Larry Green.

For those in the woods right now: love is the medicine and sisu is your companion. Keep on going.

“…let happy memories sustain you if your strength fails you, they are always there, and their current does not run backwards, even across foggy country it floats toward the future.” Selected Letters of Rainer Maria Rilke

Notes:

C. S. Lewis: A Grief Observed
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Grief_Observed

Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth | Ep. 1: 'The Hero’s Adventure' (a highest recommendation for the entire interview series)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE8ciMkayVM

Jean-Luc Marion: Being Given - Toward a Phenomenology of Givenness
https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=907

The Impact of Grief on Humans at Work with George Kohlrieser on Human Leaders Podcast with Alexis and Sally
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VTojuSV5eg

... and one of my personal go-to videos that in times of sadness and depression has allowed me to gently shift my perspective toward an orientation of light. Thus, open to the miracle of life in the moment:

The Most Astounding Fact by Neil deGrasse Tyson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9D05ej8u-gU

With sisu and love, E. E.

Support the show

Sisu is a Finnish word for a reserve of inner strength, but it’s also a way to positively impact the world. Cultivating this inner fortitude starts with self-inquiry and getting our self-care in order, and from there, extends into courage and community. Its power ultimately reaches into the world through inspired acts of compassion and positive change.

Thanks for tuning in! Find out more about sisu, explore the research, and check out Gentle Power: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead, and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu (2023) & Sisun alkemia (2025) at www.sisulab.com.

Sisu is great, but sisu, together with love, is greatness.

This is a 23 minute calm and guided meditation to help you relax and calm your nervous system, connect to your breath, and set an intention. There is no background music or sounds and there is an additional 45 seconds for silence after the session ends, so that you can integrate back slowly. No intro or outdo in this episode for that reason either to not startle your nervous system when it is relaxed.

In tough times, your parasympathetic nervous system is an ally you want to turn to. Meditation and awareness of breath are some tools to activate it. They have helped me immensely on my own journey, when I needed to connect to my sisu and inner fortitude.

Please give some stars to help others find the show if you liked it. Also, feel free to give feedback on this meditation as it was the first I recorded. What worked, what didn't, and if you would like maybe a shorter version or something else. You can reach me via sisulab.com, Instagram or at facebook.com/inspiresisu

With sisu... and smiles!

Support the show

Sisu is a Finnish word for a reserve of inner strength, but it’s also a way to positively impact the world. Cultivating this inner fortitude starts with self-inquiry and getting our self-care in order, and from there, extends into courage and community. Its power ultimately reaches into the world through inspired acts of compassion and positive change.

Thanks for tuning in! Find out more about sisu, explore the research, and check out Gentle Power: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead, and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu (2023) & Sisun alkemia (2025) at www.sisulab.com.

Sisu is great, but sisu, together with love, is greatness.

Sisu is an interconnected matter. Rarely is your sisu only your sisu or my sisu solely my sisu. One of the main findings of the ultra run field work portion of my PhD on sisu is the idea of sisu that exists, and is born from, the space in-between you and I. This episode is about how we inspire strength and fortitude in each other. Furthermore, our own sisu can be inspired by the strength we see and witness in others and their actions, and this impact  can extend to drawing strength from even those dear to us who are long gone. I speak of Viktor Frankl, present Angela Duckworth and James Gross´ concept of superordinate life-goals and propose some journaling work.

Enjoy, brave ones!

Show notes and links

 Viktor Frankl: Man´ s Search for Meaning: https://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl/dp/1416524282

Bushkin H, van Niekerk R, Stroud L. Searching for Meaning in Chaos: Viktor Frankl's Story. Eur J Psychol. 2021 Aug 31;17(3):233-242. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35136443/

Duckworth,  A.  L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M. D., & Kelly, D. R. (2007). Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(6), 1087–1101. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6290064_Grit_Perseverance_and_Passion_for_Long-Term_Goals (open access)

Duckworth, A., & Gross, J. J. (2014). Self-control and grit: Related but separable determinants of success. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23(5), 319–325. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280771582_Self-Control_and_Grit_Related_but_Separable_Determinants_of_Success

and to hear more about sisu and gentle power and find the books as audio as well as hard cover and kindle: https://resources.soundstrue.com/podcast/emilia-elisabet-lahti-sisu-embodying-gentle-power/

Support the show

Sisu is a Finnish word for a reserve of inner strength, but it’s also a way to positively impact the world. Cultivating this inner fortitude starts with self-inquiry and getting our self-care in order, and from there, extends into courage and community. Its power ultimately reaches into the world through inspired acts of compassion and positive change.

Thanks for tuning in! Find out more about sisu, explore the research, and check out Gentle Power: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead, and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu (2023) & Sisun alkemia (2025) at www.sisulab.com.

Sisu is great, but sisu, together with love, is greatness.

The sphere of life force is what I call the space within which we operate before hitting the sisu threshold; our outer boundary of inner strength. Ideally, you want this area to be as wide as possible. This episode describes how to expand it through everyday life and how I use it in daily life and to prepare for challenges during extra long ultra runs.

Show notes:

"if you know the way broadly you will see it in all things" - Miyamoto Musashi (Japanese samurai,  1584-1645). Book recommendation: The Book of Five Rings -> https://www.holybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Book-of-Five-Rings-by-Musashi-Miyamoto.pdf

"Get constructively uncomfortable." - Dr. Rhadi Ferguson, Judo Olympian, BJJ black belt. https://www.drrhadiferguson.com/coffee-with-rhadi/coffee-with-rhadi-something-i-went-through-how-i-recovered

What we talk about when we talk about the Default Mode Network (of the brain):
Frontiers in psychology: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00619/full

Killingsworth M. A., Gilbert D. T.: A wandering mind is an unhappy mind. Science. 2010 Nov 12;330(6006):932.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21071660/

Konjedi S, Maleeh R. A closer look at the relationship between the default network, mind wandering, negative mood, and depression. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2017 Aug;17(4):697-711.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28390029/

Support the show

Sisu is a Finnish word for a reserve of inner strength, but it’s also a way to positively impact the world. Cultivating this inner fortitude starts with self-inquiry and getting our self-care in order, and from there, extends into courage and community. Its power ultimately reaches into the world through inspired acts of compassion and positive change.

Thanks for tuning in! Find out more about sisu, explore the research, and check out Gentle Power: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead, and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu (2023) & Sisun alkemia (2025) at www.sisulab.com.

Sisu is great, but sisu, together with love, is greatness.

"The important thing is not your process. The important thing is your process for improving your process." (Ryan Todd). In this episode we start to dig into our stories of sisu (a practice introduced in the previous episode) to build our personal manual for navigating tough times. The key is to not continue to rely on sisu to appear randomly (which happens too because it is life force whose job is to keep you alive) or in ways that leave unnecessary damage its wake due to unwise over-extension or lack of self-care during the process. Some healthy steps toward constructive sisu include:  1) intentionally preparing for times that demand sisu and 2) cultivating patterns and habits that promote healthy sisu. I recommend using and crafting a diary specifically dedicated for understanding your patterns and habits around sisu. A book that over time gets filled with your most valued insights and tips from both life and research regarding the many pathways to fortitude. Thus, it can become the basis  for your personal user manual for enduring hardship and expressing courage in the face of nonexistent odds. The problem isn't so much that we don't have strength. We simply get caught in dysfunctional patterns (negative thinking, projections, and nervous system that is off whack) and forget the levers we can and must pull to access sisu. Hope you enjoy the episode!

Support the show

Sisu is a Finnish word for a reserve of inner strength, but it’s also a way to positively impact the world. Cultivating this inner fortitude starts with self-inquiry and getting our self-care in order, and from there, extends into courage and community. Its power ultimately reaches into the world through inspired acts of compassion and positive change.

Thanks for tuning in! Find out more about sisu, explore the research, and check out Gentle Power: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead, and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu (2023) & Sisun alkemia (2025) at www.sisulab.com.

Sisu is great, but sisu, together with love, is greatness.

In this episode I share some of the background to the very early days of researching sisu, what the word means, and I present the idea of using the upcoming podcast series as a journey into your own sisu.

If you wish, prepare by getting a special notebook (for ease of access and retrieval of the tools) dedicated to collecting material, stories, best practices and other notes relevant to you to get intimate with your own sisu: what it means, where have you displayed it, what stands in its way, what has helped you in tough times in the past, and getting started with cultivating a daily practice for sisu. Learning to recognise sisu will offer a foundation for our ongoing (go at your own pace) inquiry that you're welcomed to join.

The 1st practice: Stories of sisu
Sisu is extraordinary determination in the face of adversity. Take a peaceful moment to look back at your life and note down deeply transformational, challenging moments you've encountered and overcome. Life events where you tapped into your ability to exceed your previously assumed capacities, found the courage to take action against extremely slim odds, or experienced almost a kind of "intestinal fortitude" that seems to be like "magic" (as some respondents my research described sisu) in that helped you "do the impossible."

The human brain is evolutionarily wired for survival and notice what doesn't work and where we feel we have failed (this is called the negativity bias and its function is to provide us with information that can help us stay alive. However, it does this at the expense of the positive cues and what has gone well). Rick Hanson, PhD, describes that the effects of negativity bias may include a growing sensitivity to stress, upset, and other negative experiences; a tendency toward pessimism, regret, and resentment; and a long shadows cast by old pain.

This assignment invites you to notice the moments in your past and present when you have found the strength to go on and have tapped into what the Finns call sisu. Every individual has sisu. The challenge is that we may we prone to fail at noticing these moments and our view of ourselves may be skewed to lack of sisu, instead of welcoming a full picture of ourselves.

Links to topics in the show:

First research paper on sisu: mapping its essences and cultural representations. Lahti, E. (2019). Embodied fortitude: An introduction to the Finnish construct of sisu. International Journal of Wellbeing, 9(1), 61-82.

Microbiome and behaviour. Researchers have been able to influence the brain chemistry of mice by changing the balance between beneficial and disease-causing bacteria in their gut, thereby leading it to become bolder (Bercik et al., 2011) and less anxious (Bravo et al., 2011). When Bercik and his research team (Bercik et al., 2011) transplanted gut microbiota between different strains of mice, they discovered that behavioural traits would transmit along with the microbiota. The recipient animals would take on traits of the donor's personality and relatively timid mice would become more exploratory.

Bercik et al. (2011). The intestinal microbiota affect central levels of brain-derived neurotropic factor and behavior in mice. Gastroenterology, 141(2), 599-609.

Bravo, J. A.. et al. (2011). Ingestion of lactobacillus strain regulates emotional behavior and central GABA receptor expression in a mouse via the vagus nerve. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108(38), 16050-16055.

Support the show

Sisu is a Finnish word for a reserve of inner strength, but it’s also a way to positively impact the world. Cultivating this inner fortitude starts with self-inquiry and getting our self-care in order, and from there, extends into courage and community. Its power ultimately reaches into the world through inspired acts of compassion and positive change.

Thanks for tuning in! Find out more about sisu, explore the research, and check out Gentle Power: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead, and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu (2023) & Sisun alkemia (2025) at www.sisulab.com.

Sisu is great, but sisu, together with love, is greatness.

In this introductory episode of Sisu Lab, I briefly describe the Finnish construct sisu and invite you to take a walk with me to its higher expression as graceful strength that allows you to endure, excel, and even elevate through tough times. At the end I read a short excerpt from my upcoming book.

Thanks for listening and stay tuned for a ride into the formidable fibres of human fortitude!

Support the show

Sisu is a Finnish word for a reserve of inner strength, but it’s also a way to positively impact the world. Cultivating this inner fortitude starts with self-inquiry and getting our self-care in order, and from there, extends into courage and community. Its power ultimately reaches into the world through inspired acts of compassion and positive change.

Thanks for tuning in! Find out more about sisu, explore the research, and check out Gentle Power: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead, and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu (2023) & Sisun alkemia (2025) at www.sisulab.com.

Sisu is great, but sisu, together with love, is greatness.