University School of Science in Espoo, Finland. Sisu is not always an entirely positive quality. In Finnish, pahansisuinen literally translated means one possessing bad sisu, a description of a hostile and malignant person. Furthermore, the answers from the sisu survey indicate that there can be too much sisu, and according to the survey answers this leads to bull-headedness, foolhardiness, self-centeredness and inflexible thinking. The study suggests that sisu should be informed by reason and cultivated (and practiced) with self-compassion. Like any trait or psychological capacity, sisu is the complex product of genetic, psychological, biological and social factors, and its comprehensive understanding will require studies from multiple scientific perspectives. Finland may have the initial monopoly on sisu as a cultural construct, but it is a universal capacity and the potential for it exists within all individuals. The transformative power of narrative is widely acknowledged. Through the process of social transfer of narratives, values become embedded within a culture and connected to the thought processes of its individuals. People, through their choices and actions, bring these narratives to life in a dynamic process which can prime the behavior of an entire nation. Fostering sisu may very well be embedded in such behavior, rather than being a genetical trait which one is born with. Sisu is a new term in the field of positive psychology, and it may contribute to our understanding of the determinants of resilience, as well as of achievement and the good life. It is suggested that positive psychology research could benefit from focusing future interest on the unique cultural resource of sisu that individuals across the globe can leverage; as well as actively examining relevant constructs from other cultures. Cultural significance Sisu has been described as "the word that explains Finland", and the Finns' "favorite word"—"the most wonderful of all their words." As defined by Roman Schatz in his book From Finland with Love (2005), sisu is an ability to finish a task successfully. During the famous Winter War of 1939–1940, the Finnish perseverance in the face of the invasion by the Soviet Union popularized this word in English for a generation. In what may have been the first use of sisu in the English language, on 8 January 1940, Time magazine reported: Even in 2009, sisu has been described as so essential to the Finnish national character that "to be a real Finn" you must have it: "willpower,