Kathy
in Memos & Musings · 3 min read
Sisu: The Power of Inner Strength in Overcoming Adversity
Getting through tough situations in life requires a great deal of sisu. The same can be said when dealing with tough calls in our investing journey as well. This Finnish concept, sisu, describes an extraordinary inner strength that emerges in the face of adversity. While sisu is rooted in Finnish culture, its principles are universally valuable for understanding and enhancing well-being and performance during challenging or emergency periods. By understanding and cultivating sisu, individuals can better navigate difficulties with resilience and perseverance.
The Essence of Sisu
Sisu is categorized into three main types of beneficial attributes:
Latent Power in Adversity: This refers to an inner strength that emerges when faced with significant challenges. It’s the reserve of resilience that becomes apparent only when needed.
Action Mindset in Hopeless Situations: In situations that seem insurmountable, sisu fosters an action-oriented mindset, driving individuals to keep moving forward despite the odds.
Extraordinary Perseverance: This is the ability to transcend one’s mental or physical limits, continuing to push forward long after others might have given up.
Sisu in Scandinavian Culture
In Scandinavian culture, sisu is viewed positively as the art of courage. For many, it’s an integral part of being Finnish. However, sisu is not about ignoring or suppressing emotional pain, nor is it about relentlessly pushing oneself to the brink of exhaustion. Instead, it’s about acknowledging difficulties, whether internal or external, and rising above them. Sisu involves recognizing the challenges and doing what is necessary to overcome them.
The Role of Sisu in Difficulties
During our darkest times, sisu can help us to:
- Broaden Our Perspective: Sisu enables us to look beyond the present situation, considering broader possibilities and future outcomes.
- Find Creative Solutions: It fosters a mindset that is open to innovative and unconventional solutions to problems.
- Build Hope: By encouraging perseverance and resilience, sisu helps build and sustain hope even in dire circumstances.
- Survive, Thrive, and Evolve: Ultimately, sisu is about more than survival; it’s about thriving and evolving through challenges.
Screengrab from a recent movie I watched on Netflix: Sisu
Personal Experience with Sisu
Sisu has driven us to push our limits, work harder, and stay focused on our goals. Everything we’ve achieved, whether in investing or other areas, has required this inner strength. The best way to cultivate sisu is by embracing challenges. While easy tasks are comfortable, true growth comes from navigating the difficult paths. Whenever we undergo a challenging situation, we know we will grow, learn, and emerge as a stronger, more determined version of ourselves, full of sisu.
Recently, when S-REITs were at their lows, we emphasized the importance of sisu in maintaining our composure on InvestingNote. It allowed us to stay true to our convictions during tough times and wait for the right moment to take decisive action as investors as we have shared earlier in our July’s portfolio update.
Screen Grab from our InvestingNote’s post in May 2024
Cultivating Sisu: Actionable Steps as an Investor
Embrace Challenges: Continuously learning new investing ideas that will stretch your capabilities. New insights can help you to uncover certain blind spots, build creativity and strength.
Shift Your Mindset: View problems in the markets as opportunities for growth rather than insurmountable barriers. This shift in perspective is crucial in cultivating sisu. Be solution minded instead of just being problem minded.
Reflect on Past Successes: Reflect on moments when you successfully navigated your own investing psychology and remained steadfast in your decisions. These experiences will remind you of your inner strength and inspire you to rely on it when you need to stand firm, even if it means going against the crowd.
Set Incremental Goals: Divide large challenges into manageable tasks. Accomplishing these smaller goals will boost your confidence and perseverance along the way. Celebrate each small victory, as they will ultimately lead to greater success.
Build a Support Network: Surround yourself with supportive and like-minded individuals who encourage and motivate you. Their support can be invaluable in maintaining your sisu.
By choosing the more challenging paths and actively cultivating sisu, we are rewarded with personal growth, resilience, and the strength to achieve our goals. Sisu is not just a Finnish concept; it is a universal tool for navigating life’s toughest challenges with courage and determination.
About Kathy
Co-Founder of The Joyful Investors and Manager of The Moneyball Portfolio. I graduated with a degree in Economics in National University of Singapore (NUS). My previous experience with traders at the Merrill Lynch enable me to realize many counter-intuitive truths about how the financial markets work and to uncover the challenges faced by many new investors. We believe that investing can be astoundingly simple and want to make financial education understandable for everyone.
Important Information
This document is for information only and does not constitute an offer or solicitation nor be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell any of the investments mentioned. Neither The Joyful Investors Pte. Ltd. (“The Joyful Investors”) nor any of its officers or employees accepts any liability whatsoever for any loss arising from any use of this publication or its contents. The views expressed are solely the opinions of the author as of the date of this document and are subject to change based on market and other conditions.
The information provided regarding any individual securities is not intended to be used to form any basis upon which an investment decision is to be made. The information contained in this document, including any data, projections and underlying assumptions are based upon certain assumptions and analysis of information available as at the date of this document and reflects prevailing conditions, all of which are accordingly subject to change at any time without notice and The Joyful Investors is under no obligation to notify you of any of these changes.
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