From Patching Walls to Building Strong Mental Health: Overcoming Challenges with Progress Not Perfection

Facing our inner struggles can sometimes seem like an insurmountable task, akin to staring at a wall full of holes, unsure where to start patching. This metaphor aptly describes the starting point of our latest podcast episode with Bruce Schutter, where he discusses how the simple act of wall patching unraveled into a confrontation with his inner demons. 

The episode dives into the concept of Mindset Rule 48: "When stuck in your head, move your body and your brain will follow." Bruce candidly shares how this rule became his lifeline, guiding him through waves of anxiety and the temptation to revert to destructive coping mechanisms. His personal narrative resonates with anyone who has ever felt overwhelmed by life's seemingly trivial challenges that, upon closer inspection, reveal deeper emotional turbulence. As Bruce takes us through his trials with perfectionism, he unveils a crucial shift in perspective, emphasizing that embracing progress over perfection is not just a mindset but a liberating force.

Additionally, Bruce introduces Mindset Rule 49: "It's OK to laugh at yourself, as you will not break." This rule highlights the importance of humor, acting as a release valve for the pressures that build up within us, allowing us to bend without breaking. 

The episode ends with a powerful message: the power to change one's life is within grasp. It's a call to action, an invitation to step into the arena as a mental health warrior, ready to tackle whatever comes your way with humor, movement, and a steadfast belief in progress over perfection. 

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Bruce Schutter & the Mental Health Warrior Program:

After struggling with Bipolar, Alcoholism and Anxiety Disorder for over 20+ years, I reached a breaking point where I attempted suicide. But with a second chance at life, I set out to find an answer to my life’s challenges. I discovered that Mental Health is the key to triumphing over any challenge in life!

Armed with this knowledge, I created the Mental Health Warrior Program. A new Self-Help Approach, centered on Lifestyle and Mindset Changes, so you can Take Charge of your Mental Health and Triumph over your Life’s Challenges! 

For you are a Mental Health Warrior, and “The Power to Change Your Life is within Your Grasp!”

Chapters

• 0:00 Triumph Over Challenges
• 10:25 Overcoming Perfectionism and Embracing Progress

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hi everybody, bruce Shooter here with the Mental Health Warrior Program podcast. No Surrender. Now we are not going to surrender, but I want to talk today about what do we do when we are struggling to triumph over a challenge and maybe this is just a life challenge, but it could send us back to some of our mental health disorders or challenges also. So it's really important how do we handle a challenge that we're just not quite able to triumph over with ease we're struggling with? Now I bring this up and if you're watching the video, but if you're not, I'll explain it the background I usually have is gone and right now you're seeing all these patched holes behind me because we're in the midst of moving and so we are trying to clean up, and the wall behind me where I had a lot of things hung, I am trying to patch it up and obviously, like anybody knows when you go to move, you got to patch all the little holes, but you didn't realize how many you made. And again, that means doing some finite work with patchwork on a wall. And let me tell you, I'm excited about moving, I'm excited about what lies for our future, but I stink at trying to fix walls. It is not my forte. I am not. I am good at being a mental health warrior, I'm good at talking about emotions, but I am not a handyman type person.

Speaker 1: 1:23

And, unfortunately, this is where I'm facing some challenges amidst our move, and I am struggling to triumph over them. These are not coming along where I can say oh, that was no problem, I just did a little YouTube video and, wow, all of a sudden now, look at that Amazing work. No, I'm trying to learn, but the real trick is how do we keep going? What do we do as mental health warriors? And we are struggling with that challenge. How do we get to that high peak that says I have triumphed over it? I want to close that gap and I'm going to use my own example today, because I was working on this in a bunch of walls, including the one behind me, and I realized all of a sudden the toughest part of this challenge is to maintain and keep moving forward while it feels like I'm falling backwards, while it feels like I'm failing.

Speaker 1: 2:15

And when I'm failing, I start to think about short-term solutions. I go back to maybe drinking and thinking should I be drinking? Oh, that would be so easy to handle this, because I wouldn't have to think Wait, I could just go out and just pay somebody to handle this, I could just buy my way out of this trouble, like I've tried in the past with buying things, or get some help. Now, again, not saying we couldn't have hired somebody to fix this, but it really isn't that big a job. And again, I want to also learn how to do some of these things so I can feel like I've triumphed because I'm trying to build some of my skill sets up.

Speaker 1: 2:53

But as I mentioned and I'm going to say it again is it's just never going to be my forte and I'm just not that good at it. So how do we deal with that as a mental health warrior? Well, the first thing is, as warriors, we know it's really important to not relinquish control to our emotions. We're not going to give in when these challenges come up, and my anxiety has crept through the roof as I started to try to patch these holes. Now you may still say, boy, that just seems like a little challenge for us, but remember, it's a slippery slope.

Speaker 1: 3:32

I could have this challenge. The anxiety could push me out to places where I'm so full of anxiety and can't handle things. I might rush back to a short-term solution. I might give in to depression and said well, you know, this whole process is never going to work. I'm never going to get these holes patched. What's the point Now?

Speaker 1: 3:47

That could happen because of my bipolar disorder, because sometimes it just likes to push me and nudge me into depression. And again it doesn't matter, and I tried to explain this in a couple other videos. It really doesn't matter on depression. Sometimes it just needs a foothold. It'll take the littlest thing we have. It'll turn it into a full-blown. Everything is terrible.

Speaker 1: 4:09

So what do we do as warriors to stop that from happening? Well, I'm going to turn to and I have for the last two weeks. And again, I haven't been patching the holes for the last two weeks, but I had to buy some of the supplies, try them out. And again, you can feel free to laugh, because if you do this well and you're good at it, well, first off, let me tell you I admire you. Secondly, I am struggling and it is tough, but I am persevering, and today I have found a way to triumph. So there's some light at the end of the tunnel. I don't want to leave you hanging here as we're talking and say we're never going to get anywhere and it's going to be a real bummer of a conversation. It's not. There are ways to get through this as warriors.

Speaker 1: 4:46

So first thing we're going to do when I got stuck over the last couple weeks of prepping and doing things, knowing I had all these holes to patch, I turned to mindset rules. Now, I've mentioned them a lot, but they are very powerful because they can keep you out of trouble and they can also rescue you from trouble, get you out of it. That is the key to them is building that mindset by reminding ourselves and I like to call it certain truths that are out there in life but get lost, because everything is so hectic and frantic in lives today and so busy that a lot of times we lose our way and our emotions can then follow. So in this case, I turn to Mindset Rule 48. And it says when stuck in your head, move your body and your brain will follow. Now, how did I use that?

Speaker 1: 5:37

Well, let's think about it. What happened was I started getting stuck in my head? I'm trying to figure out how to order supplies and I'm already stuck in my head. How am I going to order patchwork stuff? I don't know, as I mentioned, what I'm doing. And again, a lot of times, that's the key with challenges we're taking on something new, we even have a greater purpose at this point moving, very positive experience, very positive outcome at the end. But how do we meet this one little challenge that could derail the whole train and in my case I could derail the train because I can't patch walls too well Well, I had to get the supplies first. So what I did was I started moving, I got my body up and moving, got to the computer, did some research and ordered some of the spackle and the tools and I got all excited. I'm going to tackle this because now I at least have the right ingredients, I have the tools, I have the spackle, I got the holes in the wall, so we got all the things we need to make progress here and meet this challenge.

Speaker 1: 6:38

I also remembered it's important because once I got moving on this, my brain started to follow and it kind of regained energy by saying, hey, why are you doing this? Oh, remember, we're doing this because of the move, we're doing this because of a positive change, we're doing this because we choose to. It's a move that we chose and again you have to remind yourself of those things. But a lot of times we got to get past being stuck in our heads. We're stuck in there with those emotions in my case like anxiety or bipolar saying maybe this is a perfect time to be depressed. No, it's not, because I get up and I move around, in this case moving the supplies. Then, when the supplies came in, we have the next part, taking action. So I'm still using the same role.

Speaker 1: 7:24

A couple of days later, the supplies came in. I looked at it with trepidation. I looked at it and said, oh boy, what did I get involved with? But then I remembered and I said let's get moving. So I unpacked everything. There we go, Got the body moving, the brain started to engage and I realized I can learn this.

Speaker 1: 7:42

I have some steps. I watched a couple of videos. I read the back of the instructions Again, piece by piece, because that's our key as warriors Small steps, each way, each day or each way to patch a hole, and we are going to make big, powerful results or big progress, in this case with completing this big task. That's on the moving checklist. So at that point I'm still using mindset rule 48. When stuck in your head move your body and your brain will follow.

Speaker 1: 8:13

I love this rule. I love this mindset rule because that mindset and that truth, it can keep you out of trouble. First off, by not getting stuck in depression like I tended to, when I was almost ready to not take any action on the holes and not be able to patch them. But secondly, once things came in I'm in the middle it helped me keep going. Now, the last bit here is we're moving along and we are getting closer.

Speaker 1: 8:36

I'm starting to patch the holes and let me tell you it was scary and it wasn't too pretty Globs of plaster and again, first couple, they're terrible. If you can see the video behind me, you can see a lot of them, because this particular wall I had a background on, again, a bunch of holes. Didn't even realize it at the time, but now I have a pretty big challenge in front of me. I'm starting to make progress, but it is just terrible. It's globbing all over the place. And then I said how am I going to handle this? What am I going to do? Because at this point I'm feeling like I'm getting stuck in my head, but I am moving. How do I do this?

Speaker 1: 9:13

Now I turned to another mindset rule. So now we've got mindset rule 49. So we used 48. And, funny enough, all I had to do is turn one more page in my book. So I went to the 53 mindset rules of a mental health warrior book and again I went to 48. Now I'm at 49, and 49 was the key to this particular project.

Speaker 1: 9:37

And mindset rule 49 says it's okay to laugh at yourself. You will not break. And I'm going to let that sit in for a second, because here we are talking about mental health and we don't want to go down the path. I mean, we are talking about serious things. I don't want to go back to drinking. It has been 17 years. I'm not going back to drinking, but patching holes in the wall. It could lead to that If we let our emotions take over, if we let my anxiety take over, I could be in a lot of trouble. So I pulled out that mindset rule and said it's okay to laugh at yourself because, frankly, even as I'm telling you this story, you're probably thinking, wow, if you know how to do this, you're probably thinking, boy, this guy is really not capable of handyman stuff. And it is true. But I get some good laughs out of it, because I can laugh at myself.

Speaker 1: 10:25

Today I do not let that fear of making mistakes, I don't let things before, where I was seeking perfectionism which is impossible, setting myself up for anxiety-filled days and depression-filled nights as I felt I was getting nowhere. But today I kept at it and I'm using this little inconsequential thing like spackling. I'm using this little inconsequential thing like spackling, but I have fixed and learned and done a good job to where now I'm starting to feel like an actual, not a professional craftsman that's way too far up but just a little bit of a craftsman in that I can patch these holes, sand them down, and I made some good progress and all along the way I can sit back and chuckle a bit. Progress and all along the way I can sit back and chuckle a bit. And I like to remind people at this point when you can laugh at yourself, it's actually a great sign to the progress you've made. Because, again, if you can kind of laugh at sometimes the things you've done in the past, sometimes the solutions you chose, it's because you're on a different path today.

Speaker 1: 11:26

And, as a mental health warrior, laughter is a fantastic and a very powerful tool and this mindset rule reminds us it's okay, we're not going to break today Because, remember, we're mental health warriors and the creed even reminds us, our whole path today is bend, not break. So, as warriors, we are not going to break. And I don't care if it's the big things that come in, some really tough things that come in, or these little inconsequential things which to me seem big, patching holes and getting ready to move. And here I am not sweating some of the big stuff and I'm almost falling apart because of patching some holes. Now you can feel free to laugh at that point and especially, I'm sure you're chuckling if you're a handyman person, handywoman person and you know how to do all these things, because I'll tell you, I am just terrible at it. But there are other things I'm good at and so I balance myself and I remember it's okay to laugh and it's okay because that means we're moving forward and we stay in control.

Speaker 1: 12:28

So, between these two mindset rules and, funny enough, I didn't even realize it, but they were the two pages back to back, 48 and 49. And that's how the warrior works. We have a lot of tools and solutions and as we put in that little bit of effort, we start moving, as rule 48 says, and our brain follows. We start to engage the gears. We start to engage the gears, we start to use the tools and you can triumph over even big challenges with the same methodology we're using here to handle the little ones, because it's all about staying in control and it's all about moving forward step by step and learning to manage all the emotions Even the emotions it's spackling A wall can bring up, funny enough.

Speaker 1: 13:09

Now, I would be remiss at this point if I didn't remind you, if you get stuck or you're just beginning this journey, go to BruceShootercom. Type in Mental Health Warrior Program in any of the search engines. We have all of the information on the site. So you will see the nine books which have lifestyle and tools and solutions for the warriors. You will find a free book to get you started, introduce you to everything, give you five different tools that you can start to use today. You can even start to use them two minutes after you start reading them and see results that quickly, because the very act of going to get that book means you are interested in taking care of your mental health, if I could speak correctly, your mental health, and being a mental health warrior and that is amazing. So I want to congratulate you on just watching this video and taking these steps, because every little step you take will help you and eventually we will triumph over like I have on even the bigger challenges and we will get those mental health disorders and mental health challenges and we will triumph over them, day after day, as we move forward and we keep moving our life forward, which in this case, means undertaking a move, something I have done in the past but have not done this well as a warrior. It's a whole new ballgame where we're in control. So that's just some interesting information and where the information's at.

Speaker 1: 14:35

There are more videos, other episodes of this podcast you can check out. There's the Mental Health Warrior Challenge Coin. I always like to remind people that if you see it out there, it's a way to carry the message with you. It's a way to carry celebrate with you. It's a way to celebrate your achievements, a way to carry motivation. It's a way just to remind yourself and in this case I reminded myself I'm a mental health warrior and I'm not going to let learning a new skill, even something maybe I can't do as well as I'd like, take me down and you can do the same. So please get excited and go check out all that information at BruceShootercom, and we can't wait to see you there. I'm going to leave you that thought. Remember the power to change your life is within your grasp. The only question out there is are you going to use it today? And I know the answer is yes, so I can't wait to see you there. Thanks, and we'll talk more later. Bye.