Sisu Lab Emilia Elisabet Lahti

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

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


Embodied awareness – checking-in with your own body for signs of stress and trauma: https://marieskelton.com/embodied-awareness-checking-in-with-your-own-body-for-signs-of-stress-and-trauma/

The Embodied Theory of Stress: A Constructionist Perspective on the Experience of Stress: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1037/gpr0000164

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.

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!

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/

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/