The Finns have something they call Sisu. It is a compound of bravado and bravery, of ferocity and tenacity, of the ability to keep fighting after most people would have quit, and to fight with the will to win. Some people will call it grit, and it certainly has that. If you are lucky enough to get to know some Finns you will see they have some deep reserves.

Strengths fed:

• Via character strengths: perseverance, Self-Regulation, hope/optimism and Bravery.
• Strengths of competence through Confidence, Future Thinking and dependability.

Want to take your Sisu to another level? Read on:

• Start with the book Grit. It is  really good. So is Smarter, Faster, Better.

I have colated some special Ted talks to help you focus your reflection: 

Leaving a high-flying job in consulting, Angela Lee Duckworth took a job teaching math to seventh graders in a New York public school. She quickly realized that IQ wasn’t the only thing separating the successful students from those who struggled. Here, she explains her theory of “grit” as a predictor of success.

Carol Dweck researches “growth mindset” — the idea that we can grow our brain’s capacity to learn and to solve problems. In this talk, she describes two ways to think about a problem that’s slightly too hard for you to solve. Are you not smart enough to solve it … or have you just not solved it yet? A great introduction to this influential field.

In the pitch-black night, stung by jellyfish, choking on salt water, singing to herself, hallucinating … Diana Nyad just kept on swimming. And that’s how she finally achieved her lifetime goal as an athlete: an extreme 100-mile swim from Cuba to Florida — at age 64. Hear her story.