“fortitudine vincimus” – By Endurance we Conquer
– Family motto of Ernest Shackleton
I have spent much of my time over the past ten years, and continue to this day, to read about, learn and try to live through the principle of perseverance; not giving up in the face of great challenges.
In the modern world we idolise the overnight success. The kid who in their bedroom with no help built a billion-dollar company or solved a centuries old maths theorem. But whilst there may be isolated examples of these situations, most of our existence is spent in a daily grind, slowly moving forward towards our desired goals. The truth is, the overnight success is a myth. Every single time when you dig into the back stories of a seeming miracle success, there are deep roots and have led to the outcome. Take Facebook for example, Mark Zuckerberg didn’t simply become a genius overnight. His father was a computer fanatic, and Mark grew up surrounded by technology. He was born close to New York and was guided down the technological path from a young age. But what was it that led to the eventual success? I would suggest a combination of enjoyment of the subject matter, guidance from a mentor (parent) and a third factor that people nowadays seem to call ‘grit’. It is this magical third factor that fascinates me.
I started this essay with the Latin ‘fortitudine vincimus’, by Endurance we conquer, famously the motto of the Shackleton family (and that of the explorer Ernest Shackleton). The concept of perseverance has many names; endurance, grit, determination, Sisu, tenacity, resoluteness, persistence, staying power (and so on), but at the core of all these words is an idea that by not quitting in the face of adversity one can move closer towards a goal.
Recently I came across the Finnish term Sisu, a centuries old identity which loosely relates to the English term ‘gutsy’. The exact definition of the word is hard to pin down, partly because of my lack of understanding of Finnish, and partly because the Fins themselves seem to have difficulty describing it. Research over the past ten years seems to have dialled in the description a bit more, suggesting that Sisu is used to describe a culture of fighting against extreme adversity, courage in situations where success seems unlikely and managing the stress of repeated failures to continue to strive towards eventual success.
Books like ‘Grit’ by Angela Duckworth have brought these concepts to the forefront of public discussions about the factors that lead to success in all areas of life and present some compelling argument that whilst talent is great, perseverance towards a goal is what really matters in the long run (even on scales of happiness and life fulfilment).
So, particularly over the past five years, I have made it my business to live through this motto, fortitudine vincimus, actively seeking out the challenges and running towards, rather than away from, the things that scare me most in life. I have moved away from comfortable jobs and focussed on entrepreneurship, I have taken up ultra-running and run 100 miles, I did it again to prove to myself it wasn’t a fluke, I’ve travelled to strange places, I’ve learnt new skills and met new people, I’ve studied and read anything I can get my hands on regarding the topic.
So, what can I say after five full years of living the Sisu experiment?
- They say to face your fears. Honestly, they are right (even though it sucks).
- If you think you can or can’t do something, you are right (it’s true).
- Once you believe you can, basically anything becomes possible. It gives you complete autonomy over your life.
- It can be lonely. Most people do not think this way and will find it hard to understand.
- To suffer together with someone else is one of the best and quickest ways to bond.
- The journey will never be done.
- There is always someone who is suffering more than you.
- If you make friends with pain then nothing can really hurt you. Discomfort can become your comfort.
- Sometimes to endure simply means to do something boring every day. It might be going to bed on time or making sure to read for half an hour without your phone.
- That true happiness comes from feeling free, connecting with people and sharing experiences, and knowing you have control over your life.
- You don’t need to endure at every moment, sometimes you will have time to relax too and rebuild your stamina.
Maybe you can see, from my experience at least, embracing the difficulties in life and learning to keep moving forward can bring you not only to places you wish to go, but also happiness too. Let’s see where the next five years of this experiment take me!