Welcome to Love Notes, Rhonda.

And today I'm in Upper Michigan, where I grew up about half of my life, and where my parents were born and where many of my relatives are.

And I did my genealogy, got my DNA tested, and I am pretty much 100% Finnish.

And I want to introduce you to a word today because I'm surrounded by all my Finnish friends and my Finnish relatives, and many people up here are Finnish.

There is a word that represents Finland.

Folks, folks from Finland, you know, that's where they are from.

My grandfather was born in Finland.

My grandmother was born in Finland.

And there was a word in the Finnish language called sisu, S I, S U, sisu, S I, S U.

And sisu is a word to describe the Finnish people.

And sisu is that almost invisible quality that.

That incomprehensible quality, that thing that makes Finnish people, in our.

In our estimation as Finnish people, unique.

And sisu is a word for grit, even though it's beyond grit.

Like, if you asked a Finnish person if sisu equaled grit, they'd be like, no, it is way more than grit.

It's more than tenacity.

It is more than resilience.

It is that undescribable word that means that you will continue to go on no matter what.

Like, you have that ability to just keep going on, that you will continue to fight, you will continue to try, you will continue no matter what.

And sisu is a.

When you talk to another Finnish person, you say, well, sisu, right?

Because we're proud of.

We're proud of having sisu.

And actually having that word sisu, for me, actually gives me courage because I know I'm Finnish, and I know that the word sisu is, you know, a Finnish word for this thing called grit.

Resilience, consistency, tenacity, et cetera.

Beyond those words, those are words that are limited.

Sisu is bigger.

And more than that.

But knowing that I am Finnish, that I have that sisu, helps me.

I mean, even claiming it for myself, even when I don't feel sisu, right?

When I don't feel grit, when I don't feel tenacity, when I don't feel, like, resilient, that I have resilience, when I don't feel like I want to keep going, just knowing that I'm finished and I have this word helps remind me that I actually have something within me that I can lean on no matter what.

So do I have sisu?

You ask any Finnish person, they will absolutely say I do.

And they will absolutely say Every Finnish person has it.

So I just want to introduce you to a word that, you know, a word that you can use even though you're Finnish or not Finnish, you can actually use sisu for yourself.

Or is there another word, is there another word that you want to claim for yourself?

That when the going gets tough, when you feel like giving up, when life is throwing you a curveball, when you don't know how you're going to do it, when you hit a wall, when, when, when, when, when, when you just want to sit down, I remind myself, rhonda, you have sisu.

So what word do you want to claim for yourself to help you stay on purpose, on target, focused, motivated, et cetera?

When you need that, right?

When you need that, there's something due, something you want to make happen and you're not feeling it, and you know you got to do it.

You got a deadline coming up.

You know, maybe you're a little quote unquote, procrastinating, right?

You find yourself just coming up with excuses.

You know, you want it, you want to do it, you want to do it, but you're not doing it.

And that's when I call on sisu.

I call on sisu.

I say sisu within me.

Allow me the courage, the fortitude, the tenacity, the grit, the resilience for me to get up from this couch and start taking action.

And the thing that I know I want to do, I want to do it.

Do you want to do something and you find yourself not doing it?

I think this is very common, right?

We have things we want to do, but we just don't do them.

So I invite you to use the word sisu for yourself and.

Or come up with another word, whether that's grit, whether that's resilience, whether that's fortitude, whether it's tenacity, or whatever word you choose, maybe where you've come from, maybe your parents, your family, your heritage, maybe a friend, you know, community that you belong to, maybe they have a word.

So maybe it's warrior.

Some people like the word warrior, some people like the word goddess, or, you know, so choose a word and claim that word and own that word.

So when you're feeling like you can't do it, when you're feeling like, oh, can I do it?

Am I worth doing it?

And all of that conversation you can say, but wait, wait, I have sisu.

You have grit.

You have resilience, whether you feel it or not.

I have sisu, whether I feel it or not.

I have Sisu.

Whether I know it or not.

I don't feel it.

I don't know it in some moments, but I know I have it inside, like I know it.

So what word.

What word is going to support you to go for the things, go for your dreams, make it happen when you want it, but you're not doing it to move you through that quote unquote procrastination, that sitting back on your heels when you really want to start running.

So go ahead, come up with a word.

And I invite you, whether you're Finnish or not, you can also take on Sisu.

S I S u Sisu.

Until next time, be fearless.

I love you.