Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

grit
in Finnish is 
sisu
(pronounced 
see-sue
). The translation isn’t perfect. Grit
specifies having a passion to accomplish a particular top-level goal 
and
the perseverance to follow
through. 
Sisu
, on the other hand, is really just about perseverance. In particular, 
sisu
refers to a source
of inner strength—a sort of psychological capital—that Finns believe they’re born with by dint of
their Finnish heritage. Quite literally, 
sisu
refers to the insides of a person, their guts.
In 1939, Finland was the underdog in the Winter War, battling a Soviet army that boasted three
times as many soldiers, thirty times as many aircraft, and a hundred times as many tanks. Finnish
troops held their ground for several months—dramatically longer than the Soviets or anyone else
might have expected. In 1940, 
Time
magazine ran a feature on 
sisu
:
The Finns have something they call 
sisu
. It is a compound of bravado and bravery, of ferocity
and tenacity, of the ability to keep fighting after most people would have quit, and to fight with
the will to win. The Finns translate 
sisu
as “the Finnish spirit” but it is a much more gutful
word than that.
In the same year, the 
New York Times
ran a feature called “Sisu: A Word That Explains Finland.” A
Finn explained his countrymen to the journalist this way: “A typical Finn is an obstinate sort of fellow
who believes in getting the better of bad fortune by proving that he can stand worse.”
When I lecture on grit to my undergraduate classes, I like to include a brief digression on 
sisu
. I
ask my students the rhetorical question: Can we forge a culture—as Seahawks coach Pete Carroll
clearly thinks we can—that celebrates and supports such qualities as 
sisu
and grit?
A few years ago, by complete coincidence, a young Finnish woman named Emilia Lahti was in the
audience when I mentioned 
sisu
. After the lecture, she rushed to greet me and confirmed that my
outsider view of 
sisu
was correct. We agreed there was a pressing need for a systematic investigation
of 
sisu
, how Finns think about it, how it’s propagated.
Emilia became my graduate student the next year, completing her master’s thesis on exactly those
questions. She asked a thousand Finns how they thought about 
sisu
and discovered that most have a
growth mindset about its development. When asked, “Do you think 
sisu
can be learned or developed
through conscious effort?” 83 percent said, “Yes.” One respondent then offered: “For example,
participation in Finnish scouting association jaunts, where thirteen-year-olds may be in charge of ten-
year-olds alone in the woods, seems to have some correlation with 
sisu
.”
As a scientist, I don’t take seriously the notion that Finns, or members of any other nationality,
have actual reserves of energy hidden in their intestines, awaiting release at the critical moment. Still,
there are two powerful lessons we can take from 
sisu
.
First, thinking of yourself as someone who is able to overcome tremendous adversity often leads to
behavior that confirms that self-conception. If you’re a Finn with that “
sisu
spirit,” you get up again
no matter what. Likewise, if you’re a Seattle Seahawk, you’re a competitor. You have what it takes to
succeed. You don’t let setbacks hold you back. Grit is who you are.

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Second, even if the idea of an actual inner energy source is preposterous, the metaphor couldn’t be
more apt. It sometimes feels like we have nothing left to give, and yet, in those dark and desperate
moments, we find that if we just keep putting one foot in front of the other, there 
is
a way to
accomplish what all reason seems to argue against.
The idea of 
sisu
has been integral to Finnish culture for centuries. But cultures can be created in much
shorter time frames. In my quest to understand what gives rise to grit, I’ve encountered a few
organizations with especially gritty leaders at the helm who, in my view, have successfully forged a
culture of grit.
Consider, for example, Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase. Jamie isn’t the only one of the
bank’s 250,000-plus employees who says, “I wear this jersey and I bleed this blood.” Other
employees much lower in the ranks say things like “What I do every day for our clients actually
matters. No one here is insignificant. And every detail, every employee, matters. . . . I am proud to be