As seen above, Roman Reigns appeared on ESPN’s First Take program earlier today to talk his return to WWE from battling leukemia and sports.

Regarding his second battle with leukemia, Reigns was asked what he learned the most about himself and life during the long ordeal. Reigns said he learned that it’s OK to lean on people and to accept their support.

“It’s OK to lean on people and accept that support,” Reigns said. “For the longest time I felt like I was on an island. Very insecure. I didn’t know how everyone would react. Being a public figure I never wanted anyone to think that I was trying to make this benefit my performance, career, or what have you. I wanted people to respect me for the work that I put in and the performer that I am. Sometimes life throws a wrench at you. It’s not exactly how you plan. It put me at a crossroads to where I had to figure out if I wanted to continue to keep this secret of mine or if I was able to tell my story and be able to connect with those who might be able to lean on it and use it as an inspiration.”

Reigns was also asked how he pulled off going through the painful ordeal in private, while putting on a strong face in public. Reigns talked about learning to compartmentalize things and learning to adjust.

“As a young man I learned how to compartmentalize stuff and different emotions,” Reigns said. “I always prided myself on still being able to live my life. I thought that was kinda the route that I wanted to go down. Still to this day, I really wanted people to respect the work and time I put into my craft. The way I educated myself towards my trade, I put everything into sports entertainment and learning how to lead this life. As I said before, sometimes things just happen unexpectedly and not the way you plan. You just kinda have to adjust. It was one of the better things I’ve done with my life. It gave me new purpose. I’m still able to do all of the things that I love, and compete. I have a deep passion for storytelling. This has also given me a different purpose on the people I connect with. The outreach we have, the platform, and the awareness. If my story can help one person it was worth sharing.”