Elisabet Lahti

It was 4:30 am in Kulosaari. 

I stood under the shower, tears mixing with water. 

I felt numb andexhausted. 

In less than two hours I was supposed to be on a train, heading to speak about thetransformational power of sisu to a group of researchers and teachers.

Dealing with major stage fright had been my companion since I gave my first talk. Nights of poor sleepand days of anxiety always preceded speaking. Yet, as I would get on stage, it seemed to createsomething that people referred to as transformational. 

I had begun to research sisu, a Finnishexpression for fortitude in the face of adversity, as a result of a major life trauma that at first seemedto end everything. I realized I had a message worth sharing, one that drove me with passion even as ittested me to my core. Each time on stage or facilitating a sisu circle meant digging into some amountof sisu, but it’s also where I’ve felt most alive and on purpose. At some point I knew I had to musterthe courage to become an entrepreneur and I founded Sisu Lab.

The “stage”, however, is not just in front of an audience or for those who are speakers, it’s everywherewhere ordinary people seek to make their extraordinary mark. 

We must get up and communicate toaudiences to drive change, to follow our dreams, or simply follow through. 

Whether in events, boardrooms, or everyday life, some people resonate with us and magic happens; others don’t, andmight even dislike us. But it is in those moments where we get to transform the lead of fear, oldmemories, and insecurity into the gold of courage, purpose, and connection.

In the shower that dark morning, I suddenly remembered a recent encounter after a talk with anentrepreneur, who’d gone through major setbacks. 

He had a special kind of calm in his eyes and he’dsaid: “At any moment, we can change the way we look at something. 

We are far more capable oftransforming ourselves than we think.”

I took a time-out from everything I was thinking and extended my focus into my body. I directed myattention to the intestinal fortitude that had got me on this journey in the first place. 

I said to myself:“This is going to be a great day. I choose how this story continues. ”

In that moment, something started to soften in me. The negative thoughts began to let go as I let go ofthem. The day still had its dificulties, but the speech went beautifully. Instead of a breakdown, I had abreakthrough. My ability to find a way to renew life force that day was the result of my willingness tostay open, but it was also the fleeting moment with a stranger, whose words opened a door for me.

As my partner says, we are each looking for some wonder in this world and in ourselves, butultimately we can only find it in relationality, in connection to others. Whether these connections arefull of flow and magic, or have friction, we are the mirrors for each other that have the power to showus who we are, or can be. We overcome, transform, and grow because of the complex interplay andtension of diferent energies that being a social species includes.

Today, hundreds of speeches later from Fortune 500 companies to universities and governmentalagencies, and thus, overcoming fear of failure countless of times, I know that ultimately, I am becauseyou are. Life is not a solo performance. It is a multitude of dances that go on from birth until the daywe leave this Earth.

The moment in the shower stands as proof that the powers that live inside us are stronger than ourfears of future or the hurt of past traumas, and we have the power to help each other access thispower.

I could have written this story about a single person, whom I want to thank, and there are many, but Iwanted to pay tribute to the miracle of small moments in-between humans that take place in theeveryday. These micro-moments weave the fabric that holds up the human spirit. It also feeds theentrepreneurial fire, without which humanity can’t build the better future that’s now needed.

My takeaway from sisu is that the solutions tend to be much simpler than we think. It’s just that themind wants it to be complicated. 

“We are way more capable of transforming ourselves than we think.”

When we recognize the power of everyday micro-moments to unlock sisu and life force, we hold thekeys to change. 

The answers are already within us.

Sisu is great. But sisu with love and humanness is greatness.

Elisabet Lahti is a behavioural scientist and the founder of Sisu Lab. She helps individuals andorganisations cultivate healthy high performance and build cultures where not only great products arecreated, but where the pursuit of excellence is aligned with the flourishing of people and planet. 

You can find about everyday healthy sisu at w.sisulab.com.