Real-life resilience - The Rock

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is one of the most recognized actors on earth. He’s known for his strength, charisma, and larger-than-life presence. But behind his Hollywood success and his social media energy is a man who has faced deep struggles with burnout, stress, and depression. His journey is riddled with examples of resilience, offering is some valuable lessons to navigate intense pressure and personal challenges.

Throughout his early life, Johnson had ambitions to be a professional football player. After playing for the University of Miami, he went undrafted by the NFL but secured a spot in the Canadian Football League (CFL). However, he was soon cut from the team and that was it…his lifelong dream of playing football was shattered.

At 23 years old, Johnson found himself broke, living in his parents’ small apartment, and feeling completely lost. He spiraled into a deep depression, struggling to get out of bed each day. The stress of failure, combined with the uncertainty of his future, became extremely hard for him.

He had to find a way to rebuild himself. He started by just getting himself out of bed.

The reframe begins.

Johnson initially resisted following in his father’s footsteps as a professional wrestler. But with football no longer an option, he embraced the opportunity. He started training to master this new craft, and soon began wrestling under the name “Rocky Maivia.” The early days weren’t glamorous. He was branded by WWE as the clean-cut and positive wrestling persona, but the fans rejected him. In fact, fans would shout “Die Rocky Die” and “Rocky Sucks”.

We should take a second to imagine how hard this period would have been for him. Imagine somehow bouncing back from depression, stress and uncertainty to then be taunted on the global stage.

Still, if he wanted to succeed, he had reinvent himself….again.

This time he adapted to work with what he had. He leaned into his natural charisma, rebranded himself as “The Rock” on the wrestling stage, and let go of what he couldn’t control. He didn’t care what people thought - he started trash talking his opponents and even insulted fans to get under their skin. This shift won over the fans and propelled him into one of the biggest names in wrestling.

And from that wrestling success, other doors opened, such as acting roles and business ventures. Now he is a household name.

Resilience is hard.

When it comes to celebrities, we often only see the end result. We miss the hard times that these folks have to get through to make it to the global stage. For Johnson, he has head to deal with many dark times…..and this newsletter only touches on a few of them.

But despite his challenges, Johnson is now a beacon of inspiration for millions of fans around the world. Here are some of the ways that Johnson was able to find a way through that hell, which we can apply ourselves.

1. Find or build a support system. Community is an exceptionally powerful tool and no one succeeds alone. No one. In his darkest times, Johnson leaned on his family and trusted advisors to help him navigate through. There will be people around us who can offer perspective and encouragement when we need it most. Professionally, we can lean on colleagues, leaders, hell even folks on LinkedIn! I’ve met some great people on LinkedIn simply by sending them a message to meet for a virtual coffee. People naturally want to help others, so it’s pretty cool who we can meet when we put ourselves out there.

2. Show up daily. When he was cut from the CFL, Johnson talks about how his biggest success was simply getting out of bed. From there, he didn’t rebuild his career overnight. He showed up daily, whether in wrestling, acting, or business. Resilience is built in the small moments of consistent effort. When everything feels like it’s getting to be too much, we can ask ourselves “what can I do right now?”

3. Prioritize both mental and physical health. Why do we talk about running or hitting the gym but we almost never talk about going to the mental gym? Burnout thrives when we ignore our well-being. Whether it’s therapy, exercise, meditation, or setting boundaries, taking care of our body and mind isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity. I personally am hyper-aware when I have missed a few days of meditating - a sense of anger and frustration emerges within me. That’s when I know that I need to give myself 10 minutes of mindfulness.

Resilience doesn’t necessarily feel good when we’re in the thick of it - it can feel messy, difficult and frustrating. However, if we know what is required, we can actually do the work up front with these tools above. That’s when we give ourselves the best possible chance to get through the challenging times that are almost guaranteed to be waiting ahead.

Until next time friends, stay resilient.

Carre @ Resilient Minds

PS - Resilience is powerful, but if you’re in a dark place, you may also need some professional help. The important point is that you don’t have to tough it out alone. Depression is real, and help is available. Please talk to someone - a friend, a therapist, or a professional who can support you.