Ep 1: Welcome to Rhino Resilience

In this opening episode, Chris “Rhino” Swenson introduces the Rhino Resilience Podcast and explores what rural life really feels like beneath the surface—and why so many strong people end up carrying more than they realize.

Transcript

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Welcome to the Rhino Resilience Podcast. I'm Chris Rhino Swensen. This is where we build calm, strength grounded resilience, and the mindset to carry what life throws at us, especially in rural life. Let's get into it. Out here, people handle things. That's just how it is. You take care of what needs to be taken care of. You figure things out. You keep moving, and you don't spend a lot of time talking about how hard it is, not because it isn't hard, just because that's not what you do. There's a certain kind of pressure built into this life, and it doesn't always come from like one big thing. It's the constant nature of it. There's always something depending on you, you know, something that needs attention, something that could go wrong, something that doesn't wait until you're ready. I mean, you might not even think of it as stress. I mean, it's just there in the background all the time. After a while, something starts to shift, but not all at once. Just slowly you get used to carrying it. So used to it, you don't even realize how heavy it's gotten. I mean, you might tell yourself like, uh, you're just tired, or that it's been a long stretch, or that once things settle down, it'll feel different. But if you're being honest. Things don't really settle down out here, do they? You know, there's always another season, another responsibility, another reason to keep going. And you do keep going. That's the part people don't question. You know, rural people are some of the most dependable people that you'll ever meet. In fact, rural people are some of the most strongest people that I've ever met. And because you show up, I mean, you follow through, you carry your weight. Even when it's a law, especially when it's a law, but there's an unspoken rule that comes with that kind of a different belief system out here that gets kind of in the way. You know, things like don't make it bigger than it needs to. You don't complain unless it's really bad, right? You don't slow down unless you absolutely have to, and you definitely don't put your problems on someone else's plate because everyone else is carrying something too. So then how do you deal with that instead? You keep it to yourself. You stay busy, you push through, you tell yourself it'll pass. And most of the time you believe that. But here's where it gets complicated, because it doesn't always show up the way people expect. I mean, it's not always looking like you're falling apart. You know, sometimes it looks like being shorter than you used to be. Kind of irritable. Not enjoying things the same way. Feeling off, but not knowing why, you know, running on empty and just calling it normal. I mean, you might not even call that struggling. You might just call it life, and that's the part that's easy to miss because from the outside you look fine. You're doing what you've always done, handling things, showing up, keeping it together. But inside it's heavier than people realize, isn't it? And the truth is, it's not because you're doing something wrong, it's because of what this life asks of you. And if you've ever felt that, excuse me. You know, I mean, I'm thinking about like, if you, if you've ever felt that way. Like you should be handling things better than you are. You know? Like maybe something's off. I wanna be real clear about something. There's nothing wrong with you. You're not falling apart, you're not losing it. You've just been carrying a kind of weight that no one ever taught you how to carry. And that's what this is about. Excuse me. It's not just pushing through. Learning how to carry it differently. That's what this is about. You know, I've spent 20 years sitting across from people in my therapy office and rural communities, my entire 20 plus career with good people, strong people, dependable people, and more times than I can count, they'd sit down and say something like, uh, I think something's wrong with me. I don't feel like myself or, uh, I don't know why I'm like this. And the truth was, there was nothing wrong with them. I mean, they weren't broken, they weren't weak, and they definitely weren't going crazy. I mean, even though at times it depends on their sense of humor. Um, as I have a sense of humor as well, sometimes I might ask them like, well, after they say they're going crazy, I'm like, well, you aren't a therapist's office. We get a little gig, a lot of that, but I make sure I let 'em know that, no, that's not just joking, because the truth is they weren't going crazy. They were overloaded, you know, carrying pressure for too long without ever being shown how their mind actually works or what's really happening inside of them. And I've seen what happens when that goes on too long, trust me. Not all at once, but slowly things get heavier. People get wore down and eventually they end up sitting in an office like mine, wondering how it got this far. And that's really why I created this podcast. So people don't have to wait until it gets that bad. Because the truth is most people were never taught this stuff. You know, they're never taught like how your brain responds to stress or what mental health actually looks like or. Even how to work with your mind instead of against it. And when you understand that, you start to see things differently. You start realizing it's not about being tougher, it's about being smarter in how you carry it. That's what Rhino resilience is all about. It's not about fixing you. It's not about slowing you down and definitely not adding more to your plate, but giving you real practical ways to carry what's already there so it doesn't keep wearing you down over time, because you don't need to wait until things fall apart to start doing this differently. And honestly, if this reaches just one person out there who's carrying a lot, you know, probably quietly not telling anybody. Something here helps them understand what's going on or helps them take even one step in a better direction. That's enough. That's always been enough, and if you're listening to this and it makes you think of someone, someone who's been off or wore down or just not quite themselves lately, share it with them because sometimes that one conversation or that one moment of understanding. That can make a more of a difference than people realize. And I'll tell you a couple different stories here. The first one is being what, how you can make a difference in their lives. You know, I spoke at a conference a little bit ago, it was a big conference up in Denver for early childhood educators, and I was speaking to them about burnout. And when I do a burnout presentation, much like I do on here, I'm not just gonna share some self-help tips. You know, just some generic stuff. I, I get deep, I give 'em real practical tools on how to face that, how to manage that. And there were a number of people out there, and it's always my thing. I just wanna reach one person. If the message gets to, that's what matters. And afterwards, some people came up, but one person in particular that came up, she was in tears, absolute tears. And she started telling me that. She has really struggled with burnout so bad and she's gone to different other presentations on that, but it didn't seem like it really helped her. But mine really gave her something. She said before this burnout was so bad that she, uh, was questioning why she's in this field anymore. Something she's always wanted to do, doesn't think that she could probably continue. Might need to quit, you know? Just struggling. And she said after hearing some of the tools and the things that I shared there, that now she feels confident enough to go back and face what, you know, the struggle and the weight she's been facing and, and that mattered. Like I said, that one person, and I could tell you like asking you like if there's one person out there to share it with them, because that's important. You never know the difference that you can make in the life of another person. Which brings me to my next quick story. This is a true story. And it happened many years ago, um, long time ago. And there was an individual, this guy had come to my office and he shared with me the story that he was at the end of his rope, he was done, he couldn't do anymore, and he had a lot of thoughts of killing himself. And he decided one day that, okay, I'm gonna go. Into a grocery store. This grocery store he is gonna go into and he's going to, uh, see if anybody notices him anything or if nobody acknowledges him, nobody even says anything. He's gonna, it's just gonna prove his point that nobody cares. And then he said he'll plan to go home and end his life. Well, he went into this grocery store and apparently there was down some aisle, there was some lady that had a young kid inside of her. Her little cart there. And as he walked by, all she did was smile, just smiled as he walked by. That was it. One little thing, but she had no idea in that moment that she carried that man's life in her hand. And that little moment that someone acknowledged him, changed it all and he went back home and decided to go reach out for help. That's how we ended up in my office to be able to share that story. So that's the part of, you never know what difference you might make, that one person may need it. And that's why my hope of what I'm doing for this, so if there's someone out there that you know, let them know about this because there's more people out there than we think who are carrying this kind of wake. And that's what this podcast is about. This isn't a podcast where I'm gonna talk at you, and it's not a place where we just vent about how things are. This is about understanding what's actually going on and learning how to work with it. Because once you, once you understand how your mind responds to stress or prac or like, or pressure actually, but does deal over time and why you feel the way you do things start to make a lot more sense. When things make sense, you can start to do something about it. But I want to be very, very clear about something that even though I'm a therapist, this isn't therapy. Okay? This isn't therapy. This podcast space is where I'm gonna talk to you more. Like a guide or just someone sitting across from you helping you make sense of things, right? Like if you need therapy that matters. You deserve that kind of support. You do. But this podcast is about giving you tools and perspective, um, like, kinda like an understanding you can start using right now. And just so it's clear as well, that Rhino Resilience and my, and Rhino Wellness, which is my clinical practice, there are two separate things. Okay? Two separate entities. See, rhino Wellness is where I provide therapy services, but Rhino Resilience, this is about education, tools and real world resilience. So what you're gonna find here on the podcast are real practical tools, right? Ways to think differently, ways to respond differently, ways to carry what you've already been carrying without wearing you down the same way. And a lot of this comes from years of me being in the mental health trenches with rural people. I've always operated doing counseling in rural communities, but also it comes from things I've intentionally gone out and learned. You know, I've spent a number of time in mental toughness training environments, including programs led by Navy Seals, learning how like high level performers handle pressures, stress and adversity. And what found is those same principles matter just to, they, they matter the same way out here as they do anywhere else. So what I'm gonna talk about isn't gonna be just theory. This is real world stuff that actually works when life doesn't slow down. But I don't want this to, it's not gonna add more to your plate. It's just gonna be better ways to handle what's already out there. And this is really for anyone living that kind of life. You know, people who show up every day, who take care of what needs to be taken care of, who carry responsibility, whether they talk about it or not. That's rural communities, small towns, people working hard, raising families, showing up for others, and honestly, anyone who's been caring a lot quietly because this kind of weight, it's more common than people think. And over time, we're gonna go build this in a way that actually sticks for you. I'm gonna tell you a little short thing here. There, there's gonna be four parts to this, like four ways of approaching life that help you stay steady, think clearly, carry yourself differently over time. So, like I said, this isn't theory, it's real world stuff that actually works when life doesn't slow down, right? And we're gonna build it. That makes it stick for you. So now the four parts to this. They're not steps that you have to follow perfectly, but they're ways of approaching life that kind of help you stay steady under the pressure and carry things differently over time. Right? So I call them the four pillars of rhino resilience. The first is tough with an unbreakable will. Tough with an unbreakable will. This is the part of you that keeps going when things get hard, right? It's not reckless, it's not running yourself into the ground, but steady, grounded, persistence, just like a rhino. Once it decides to move forward, it doesn't get pushed off course easily. The second pillar is calm and steady. That's calm and steady because pressure out here, it's always going to be there. You know, it's, the goal isn't about eliminating it. It's learning how to stay centered so the stress doesn't run you right. When you think about it, a rhino doesn't panic under pressure, stays grounded even when things get intense. The third pillar, adaptive and wise. Adaptive and wise, this is where you learn how to think clearly, adjust when you need to, and make better decisions even when things aren't ideal, right? A rhino isn't reacting to everything. It moves with awareness and purpose. The fourth pillar. Final pillar, even though there's no like, gotta do the first one, go to the second, it's not like that. What it becomes is it's, every one is integrated. Each one of the pillars needs to be there. And you can train and work at each and every one of them, little by little. But this fourth pillar is quietly powerful. Very important one, because this is how you carry yourself. Not loud, not forced. Grounded, confident and steady in who you are. You see, a rhino doesn't have to prove anything. Its presence speaks for itself. Right? And I'll get more into those over time 'cause we'll build on each of these over time, no doubt. But, and like I said, not all at once, but like just piece by piece, you know, in ways that actually fit into your life. So here's what you can expect moving forward. All right. These episodes, they won't be long drawn out episodes, okay? It's going to be real conversations, practical ideas, and simple tools that you can actually use, right? Things that that you can think about while you're driving or working or just trying to get through the day. Some of these episodes, it'll just be me talking through things in a way that actually makes sense and helps you understand what's going on a little better. And other times we'll bring in people who've actually lived this. People who've gone through the way, figured some things out and have something real to share, you know, and we'll also have some conversations with some people who know thing or two about this work. Um, but can talk about it in a way that's simple, down to earth and actually useful in real life. No technical jargon. That's not my thing. So nothing complicated, right? Nothing you need a bunch of extra time for. It's just better ways to understand what's going on and better ways to handle it. Again, this isn't about adding more to your plate, it's about helping you carry what's already there in a way that doesn't keep wearing you down. And if you want to go deeper into this, you can head over to the website, rhino resilience.com, check out the blog, great tools there, sign up for the newsletter. Once you do that, you know you'll get an automatic kind of welcome newsletter, and then there's gonna be some follow up newsletters after that. Every so every couple days or so that introduce you to kind of the four principles in a deeper way, but leads you with one specific thing or action that you can do. Just one simple thing that you could do to start building that resilience and training in that area. So there's more there to help you keep building this in a way that actually fits for your life. But before we wrap up, if you're still here listening to this. That says something about you. Most people don't slow down long enough to even look at this stuff. Most people avoid it. They push it down, they stay busy, they keep moving, but you didn't. And that takes courage. It takes courage to look at your life, honestly, to recognize something that might need to shift and to start doing something about it. So I wanna say this clearly. I'm glad you're here and I want to acknowledge you for that because this right here, this is how things start to change, not all at once, but step by step. Choice by choice. Learning how to carry things differently. You know, you've been carrying a lot that's real. But you don't have to keep carrying it the same way you always have. So stay steady, stay grounded, and keep moving forward. Welcome to Rhino Resilience.