The state of sisu

Warning: self-indulgent navel gazing ahead.

I've been thinking about sisu lately - so, apparently, have Forbes and the Toronto Observer - and what it means to live sisu. Sure, I'm stubborn. I keep running, even after more than a year off due to chronic migraines and daily pain. Every day feels like a performance of the ultra-runner's motto "relentless forward progress." My brother the Marine called me Iron Mel in his birthday text last week and said he thought I was tough as nails.

But sisu is more than grim determination or tenacious endurance - it's "a consistent, courageous approach toward challenges which at first seem to exceed our capacities."* Living sisu means more to me than sucking it up every day and waking up the next day to do it again. Living sisu means finding a way to do it better. To keep searching for effective treatments, keep running, keep training.

How? I got some help:

• I found a new headache specialist, and I'm exploring some unconventional treatments.
• I got a coach, who is awesome and fun and has a group of amazing athletes.
• I wrote down some super-secret goals (which I'm not sharing yet because, yeah, super secret). 
• I restarted this blog to keep me focused and honest and looking forward.

And I'm working on framing my ideas and experiences in a way that supports my goals - seeing adversity as experience that builds resilience. That's the state of sisu around here.

*As described by sisu researcher Emilia Lahti in her master's thesis Above and Beyond Perseverance: An Exploration of Sisu.