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Hi everyone. I'm so excited to be here.

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My name is Emilia Lahti[br]and I'm a researcher.

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Some really smart person once said

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that research is often,[br]in fact, me-search.

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We tend to get interested in things

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which are of some personal significance[br]to us, and I'm no exception.

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What I will share with you[br]today is a discovery

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that has impacted my life[br]and thinking in a really profound way,

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and it originates from a trauma[br]that I survived to, a few years ago.

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As a result of these experiences,

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I became very interested to understand

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how humans persevere[br]in the face of extreme adversity,

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and how do we keep on going

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when we feel that we've reached[br]the end of our capacities.

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I'm sure we can all think[br]of some people like that from our lives.

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Here's one person like that,[br]whose story I would like to briefly share.

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Her name is Kati Lepistö van der Hoeven,

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and she may look like[br]a completely ordinary woman to you

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- well, excluding the fact

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that she looks like some ethereal goddess[br]of Lapland in this photo -

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but, the truth be told, Kati's life[br]is a beautiful ode to human resilience.

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20 years ago, she experienced[br]a massive brain stroke,

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which left her locked[br]inside her physical body.

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Today Kati is able to communicate

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through using eye movements[br]and an alphabetical board.

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For Kati, everyday of her life[br]is a beautiful example

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of how humans push through adversities,

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and an example of how[br]you have to imagine realities

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beyond the current reality that you see.

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I'm so happy to share Kati's story[br]because it's a beautiful Segway

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to what I will share with you next.

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To be her requires something[br]more than just resilience,

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which means to bounce back[br]from adversities,

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or perseverance, which means[br]to strive for a long term goal.

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To be Kati requires something

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that we have in Finland[br]for centuries, known as "sisu."

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"Sisu" is something

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that we pretty much learn[br]before we learn to talk or walk.

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"Sisu" means to be able to strive[br]over extraordinary difficulties,

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and it means to be able to have[br]extraordinary determination and courage

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in the face of extreme adversity.

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It means you don't see a silver lining,

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but you jump into the storm anyways.

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In the core of "sisu"[br]is this beautiful idea

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that there is much more to us

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than what meets the eye[br]at a given moment.

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The thing here is[br]that even though "sisu"

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is so deeply integrated[br]into Finnish culture,

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it's something that bears[br]significance to you

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if you are a human living[br]anywhere in the world.

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We all face adversities,

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and we all have to strive[br]through them somehow.

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"Sisu" is really embodied

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by those who hold on to hope[br]anywhere in the world.

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That is something that is[br]one of my greatest passions

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to talk more about that.

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The thing with "sisu" is

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that it doesn't have[br]a direct translation in any language.

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So it's not merely the Finnish equivalent[br]for willpower or perseverance,

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but is something more than that.

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In the Finnish culture,

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"sisu" is often seen[br]as this mindset or a life philosophy.

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You can associate things[br]such as integrity and honesty to "sisu."

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We have some words which technically[br]could have become the word for "sisu,"

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and here is one which is[br]'periksi, ' 'anta, ' 'matto, '

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and there is more,[br]'periksiantamattomuus.'

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For someone who is not Finnish,

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it may take a little bit[br]of "sisu" to even say that.

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"Sisu" has been a big part[br]of our culture for a long time,

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and we haven't been able to necessarily[br]explain what it is in its core.

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I became interested in this.

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One thing that you will definitely find

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if you Google "sisu," is Finns[br]during the Winter war,

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and how we were against[br]this massive opponent,

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and we prevailed against[br]all possible expectations.

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This event raised "sisu"

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to this almost sacred status[br]in Finland for generations to come.

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The New York Times,[br]back in 1940 wrote:

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that "Sisu is the word[br]that describes Finland,"

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which is really powerful.

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But at the same time,

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even though "sisu" has been[br]such an integral part of our country,

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I wasn't able to find an answer

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to whether "sisu" is some kind[br]of a character trait, is it a tendency,

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is it just a myth,

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or maybe it's some genetic mutation[br]of people who have to endure

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almost a lifetime without sunlight?

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I don't know.

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I became interested,

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because some happenings in in our life

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always involve[br]a little bit of serendipity.

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In 2012, I happened to[br]meet this wonderful woman

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called Angela Duckworth,

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who's a research psychologist[br]at the University of Pennsylvania.

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I actually crashed Angela's course[br]one wintry February morning,

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where she was talking about[br]her research on grit,

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which stands for passion[br]and perseverance for a long term goal.

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I became interested in seeing

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whether "sisu" and grit somehow overlap,[br]or maybe we can learn something.

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I sent Angela an email[br]with one simple question asking,

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"Have you ever heard of "sisu"?"

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Angela being Angela,[br]of course she had heard of "sisu."

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She affirmed my intuition

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that "sisu" is something[br]worth examining at its own right.

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I think that was the first push[br]to start my own journey

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into the land of "sisu"[br]as a research subject.

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As a result of this, I started looking[br]into other kinds of ideas

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maybe little bit outside the usual scope.

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Then I ran into

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this 19th century philosopher[br]called William James,

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who was saying that we don't know[br]enough about the human spirit,

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and he was saying[br]that we would need to create something

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like a topography of human spirit[br]or human strength,

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which for someone unlike William,[br]who went to Harvard at the age of 12,

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so to put that in plain language:

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to get some kind of an understanding[br]of this map of how do we endure

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significant adversities in our lives.

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Because if we understand that[br]maybe we are better able to understand

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human life and maybe help each other.

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William James also said

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that we rarely run far enough,[br]or push ourselves enough,

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to realize that we have[br]what he called "a second wind."

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Like there is this extra power tank

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or something that gets ignited[br]when we run far enough,

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and it's something that only activates[br]when we really need it.

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This brought "sisu" to my mind[br]and I was really excited to see

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whether understanding[br]"sisu" a bit better could maybe add

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a little piece to this puzzle[br]of this beautiful human experience,

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and maybe we could learn[br]something through this.

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In 2012, I conducted a survey,

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and I wanted to understand[br]the deepest essence of "sisu"

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like what is it really all about.

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One of the main findings[br]about "sisu" was this idea

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that it is some kind[br]of a extraordinary ability for action

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when you feel that you've reached

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the end of your physical[br]or mental abilities.

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So it's more more about that[br]than maybe striving for a long-term goal.

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At the same time,[br]the thing that rose up was

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that "sisu" also seems[br]to render itself different

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from these other psychological[br]capacities that we have.

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For example, resilience refers[br]to the dynamic process

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of positive adaptation[br]to a difficult situation.

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In the core of resilience[br]is this idea to bounce back

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start anew, get your head back[br]above the surface.

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I was thinking that "sisu" is more like

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something that acts as a pathway to this.

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Before you get head back[br]above the surface,

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you need to sometimes fight

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some really strong[br]undercurrents to get there,

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and "sisu" is something[br]that helps us fight first,

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and then we can continue[br]from where we left it.

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Perseverance is striving for[br]a long-term goal and not giving up

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even though you have[br]obstacles along the way,

0:09:07.544,0:09:09.832
so you have your eyes fixed[br]on something.

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Grit that Angela researches[br]is perseverance

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infused with zest and passion.

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With "sisu" it's not[br]so much about passion.

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"Sisu" is really about[br]when you are in that place

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where you feel[br]that there is nowhere to go,

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when you've reached the end[br]of every possible single capacity,

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or you might be at the wrong place.

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You're too short, too slow, something,

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and even people around you are saying

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you shouldn't go there;[br]you are not up for it.

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"Sisu" is that something[br]that pushes us beyond the boundaries.

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In short, you could say

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that "sisu" is more about[br]the short term intensity in that moment,

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and not so much about[br]the long-term stamina;

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This is this a very important distinction.

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At the same time[br]when it's this power capacity,

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it also seems to give rise to[br]what I call 'an action mindset.'

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An action mindset is this consistent,[br]courageous approach toward challenges.

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It's so beautiful to think[br]that if this represents

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your opportunities and the limitations[br]of the current moment,

0:10:29.801,0:10:35.192
there is something that evokes[br]this vision of you in the future

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where you might be able to go[br]if you dare to reach.

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There is something[br]that elicits hope in "sisu"

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what is one of the most exciting things[br]to me about this construct, honestly.

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But at the same time,[br]as you can see from my slide,

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it's kind of scattered around.

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I was trying to find a way[br]to describe "sisu" in a way

0:10:57.262,0:11:00.124
that would pull everything together

0:11:00.125,0:11:06.001
because it seems to be so multilayered[br]and so nuanced, and so extraordinary.

0:11:06.015,0:11:09.518
One evening when I was watching Cosmos,

0:11:09.519,0:11:12.612
I started thinking that maybe,

0:11:12.613,0:11:17.179
the solution to this is[br]right in front of my eyes.

0:11:18.599,0:11:20.875
I thought of the carbon atom

0:11:20.876,0:11:25.210
and how carbon is this unique,[br]otherworldly amazing atom

0:11:25.225,0:11:28.001
because it's the only thing[br]that's able to bond

0:11:28.002,0:11:32.907
with up to four atoms[br]at the same time and with itself.

0:11:32.908,0:11:37.136
In that way, it creates a system

0:11:37.137,0:11:41.040
which enables[br]the bigger entity to function.

0:11:41.041,0:11:45.583
If you look at this molecular diagram[br]you can see that maybe,

0:11:45.584,0:11:51.290
"sisu" is like the carbon atom[br]would be in this diagram.

0:11:51.291,0:11:57.389
Something that is this life-enabling agent[br]or creative power.

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Something that helps build a bridge[br]between this moment and the next one.

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I think that's one of the core ideas,

0:12:08.342,0:12:12.481
and why I feel like "sisu"[br]could be something that could help us

0:12:12.482,0:12:15.599
see we could use that[br]in the future to empower people.

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The thing is "sisu" is nothing new to you

0:12:19.718,0:12:22.551
if you've encountered[br]adversities in your life.

0:12:22.552,0:12:25.937
It's just that you might have not[br]had a word for it.

0:12:28.634,0:12:34.251
We could say that future is first an idea,[br]or it's a story that we tell each other,

0:12:34.252,0:12:38.509
so as long as we don't have a word[br]for some phenomena or a construct,

0:12:38.510,0:12:42.994
we sometimes fail to tap[br]into its potential that it withholds.

0:12:42.995,0:12:46.014
We are a sense-making species,

0:12:48.034,0:12:52.777
we try to understand the events[br]in our lives through these constructs,

0:12:52.778,0:12:56.065
and we pass on knowledge[br]through using the stories;

0:12:56.066,0:13:00.418
and we also learn[br]and find meaning in our lives

0:13:00.419,0:13:02.916
through reflecting on these stories.

0:13:05.857,0:13:11.236
I found "sisu" through[br]this similar self-reflective process,

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I found "sisu" through my struggle.

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What I am doing today...[br]All began as this one woman's quest

0:13:20.450,0:13:23.927
to make some sense of what had happened

0:13:23.928,0:13:27.396
and how she somehow survived.

0:13:29.607,0:13:31.337
After a while I realized

0:13:32.937,0:13:37.219
that whatever I was doing[br]in trying to figure my own shit out,

0:13:37.220,0:13:40.517
was actually helping[br]other people as well.

0:13:40.518,0:13:42.929
That was a wonderful discovery,

0:13:42.930,0:13:46.869
how you can see people come together[br]when we inspire each other,

0:13:46.870,0:13:49.650
because we are all in this together.

0:13:49.651,0:13:54.085
As a result of that, I quit my job[br]- which I had for a very long time -

0:13:54.086,0:13:56.391
and I went back to school[br]and study psychology,

0:13:56.392,0:13:58.726
which always was my first love.

0:14:00.026,0:14:03.219
I wanted to see what[br]we could possibly do with this thing.

0:14:03.220,0:14:06.939
Today, this "sisu"[br]and the topics around it

0:14:06.940,0:14:09.660
is really the reason[br]why I wake up each morning.

0:14:12.250,0:14:15.542
With my amazing team[br]at Filosofian Akatemia,

0:14:15.560,0:14:20.100
we are really excited[br]to bring "sisu" to the world

0:14:20.101,0:14:23.874
because there is so much[br]amazing potential in it.

0:14:23.875,0:14:28.312
Next year will be[br]'the Year of Sisu' globally,

0:14:28.313,0:14:32.161
and February 28th[br]will be the 'Day of Sisu' in Finland,

0:14:32.162,0:14:34.501
which actually is already[br]in our calendars;

0:14:34.502,0:14:37.132
if you check you will find it.

0:14:37.133,0:14:39.118
The reason why we are doing this is

0:14:39.119,0:14:45.241
because we are share collectively[br]adversities, we all encounter them.

0:14:45.242,0:14:51.225
What we also share is[br]this amazing ability to overcome them.

0:14:51.226,0:14:54.143
That's in the core of this idea[br]of the 'Year of Sisu, '

0:14:54.144,0:15:00.477
to inspire people to transform[br]those barriers into frontiers,

0:15:00.478,0:15:05.838
and more importantly,[br]to support each other in this process,

0:15:05.839,0:15:09.157
to see that the strength within them

0:15:09.158,0:15:13.174
is stronger than the adversities[br]that we often encounter.

0:15:15.853,0:15:18.383
Since "sisu" is such a powerful thing

0:15:18.384,0:15:22.220
it's important to remind[br]that we shouldn't be fooled to think

0:15:22.221,0:15:25.350
that it's the only thing[br]we need, and "sisu" alone.

0:15:25.351,0:15:27.589
Just push hard; that's it.

0:15:29.252,0:15:31.633
To answer the question what enabled me

0:15:31.634,0:15:36.420
to go through my own experiences[br]was definitely yes, I had "sisu"!

0:15:36.421,0:15:39.318
I kept on showing up for life,[br]and I didn't give up,

0:15:39.319,0:15:42.540
although I felt like doing so many times.

0:15:43.967,0:15:47.694
But there is one thing[br]which just cannot be left unsaid,

0:15:47.695,0:15:51.118
and it's that I had someone

0:15:51.119,0:15:54.853
who believed in me[br]before I believed in myself,

0:15:56.533,0:16:01.626
and who saw this angel in that raw piece[br]of marble before I saw it,

0:16:01.627,0:16:05.885
and who also stuck around[br]long enough to discover it.

0:16:07.685,0:16:11.422
That person is my best friend[br]and now husband.

0:16:11.423,0:16:16.582
We have an immense power[br]to open doors for each other

0:16:16.583,0:16:18.764
and also close them.

0:16:18.765,0:16:23.709
Through our actions, through[br]our gestures, through our words.

0:16:25.305,0:16:27.976
I believe that when "sisu,"

0:16:27.977,0:16:31.991
this inner amazing,[br]beautiful power that we have,

0:16:31.992,0:16:36.634
when that is met with social support,[br]compassion, and love,

0:16:36.635,0:16:41.430
there are very few things[br]that are impossible to us.

0:16:42.620,0:16:45.743
This sculpture here is[br]one of my favorite ones.

0:16:45.744,0:16:50.684
It was created to celebrate[br]triumph over a massive sea battle.

0:16:50.685,0:16:55.005
It depicts the goddess Nike,[br]"Nike" meaning victory.

0:16:55.006,0:16:58.798
She is over 2,5 meters tall[br]and 2,000 years old.

0:17:00.388,0:17:03.893
One of the most beautiful,[br]moving things about this sculpture for me,

0:17:03.894,0:17:05.747
and why it is my favorite,

0:17:05.748,0:17:10.820
is that, despite this significant damage[br]and incompleteness

0:17:12.161,0:17:17.219
this sculpture is one of the most[br]celebrated and valued masterpieces

0:17:17.220,0:17:19.688
of our human history.

0:17:19.689,0:17:20.991
And I believe

0:17:23.241,0:17:26.464
that's something that we can transport[br]to our daily lives.

0:17:26.465,0:17:28.922
How, if we see each other,

0:17:28.923,0:17:33.152
despite some imperfections, some bumps,

0:17:33.153,0:17:36.084
but with that potential and beauty,

0:17:36.085,0:17:38.434
maybe we can help create a world

0:17:38.435,0:17:43.414
where we are able to heal,[br]and flourish, and exceed ourselves.

0:17:46.486,0:17:50.586
I strongly believe that there is so much[br]more to us than what meets the eye,

0:17:50.587,0:17:53.217
and I'm not just talking[br]about carbon atoms,

0:17:53.218,0:17:59.086
but I'm talking about this other kind[br]of life-giving ingredient called "sisu."

0:18:00.456,0:18:04.617
I believe that if we acknowledge[br]and we celebrate

0:18:04.618,0:18:07.574
this amazing potential within all of us,

0:18:07.575,0:18:09.612
this universal potential

0:18:09.613,0:18:14.076
which goes beyond cultural boundaries[br]and geographical boundaries,

0:18:14.077,0:18:19.258
if we include "sisu" in our collective[br]conversation of our future,

0:18:19.259,0:18:24.938
maybe, not only are we able[br]to empower individuals here and there

0:18:24.939,0:18:30.774
but perhaps, we are able to bring[br]this human family a bit closer together.

0:18:32.164,0:18:35.268
That, I believe, is an idea worth sharing.

0:18:35.269,0:18:36.924
Thank you.

0:18:36.925,0:18:38.455
(Applause)