Sisu Lab
Sisu is an ancient Finnish concept associated with determination and courage in the face of adversity. But sisu is more than perseverance — it is a way of life and a practice of refining one’s character. The Sisu Lab Podcast explores this inner fortitude and its deeply human expression.
Hosted by Elisabet Lahti, the podcast weaves together research, personal experience, and practical insights into human capacity in everyday life. Elisabet has researched sisu since 2012 and completed multiple endurance challenges as part of her ongoing inquiry into the nature of inner strength.
Learn more at www.sisulab.com.
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Sisu Lab
Sacred Grief, Dragons by the Temple, and the Gift of Slowing Down
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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.
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.