Personal Thought: On the Concept of "Inat"

I recently learned that in Serbia and the Balkans region of Europe there’s a concept called “Inat" (pronunciation: EE-nat). There is no English word that directly translates into what Inat is, but Inat is a combination of: stubbornness, persistence, fearlessness, resilience, and toughness. Inat is the force that any underdog leverages to push through, keep fighting, and prove doubters wrong. I describe Inat in English as the amalgamation of the phrases “refuse to lose”, “fight like hell”, and “prove doubters wrong” combined together.

Specific examples of Inat would be:

• Someone tells you that you can’t do something or that you can’t become someone, and then you decide to go do the thing or become the person you’ve always wanted to be anyway. Negativity is good because it becomes a source of fuel.
• A situation seems totally formidable and there’s apparently no solution, but you maintain a positive plus optimistic attitude and take action anyway, which gives you a chance (however small) for eventual success.
• People reject you or look down on you for who you are, but that’s cool. You decide to stay focused on your own lane and you keep doing what you do. Peoples’ perceptions of who you are doesn’t have any influence over how you think about yourself.

As someone who has viewed himself as an underdog his whole life, Inat is a concept that speaks to me. I’m going to keep pressing. Historically even when the odds have been against me, I’ve always chosen to keep pressing because I refuse to willingly accept defeat in almost all situations. The only caveat is a situation that’s untenable where the chances for success are totally rigged. Aside from that and as long as there’s a legitimate chance, I believe the Inat mindset gives someone the power to push through even on the worst days and situations imaginable. I’m thankful I have another tool that I can whip out from my mental toolbox!