Taking care of our mental health

Life as an adult has never been easy but these last few years have been particularly trying for all of us. Between politics causing division among friends and family, a virus that wants to kill us and inflation like we haven't seen in a long time, maintaining a healthy mental state hasn't been easy. May is mental health month and John Nelson, owner of John the Plumber, wants to share a few words on the topic.

"I'm certainly no one's guru when it comes to mental health but I have learned a few things in my 56 years," he explains. "I know it sounds cliché but you can't sweat the small stuff and you must maintain an attitude of gratitude. No matter what is going on in your life, there's always something you can be grateful for. Stress is a killer so we all need to find ways to let stuff go."

As a business owner, John is no stranger to stress. His biggest stressor? "Time," he says. "Not enough of it. No matter what I do, there just isn't enough time in the day to get everything done. I give 100% to the business and our customers every day. What that means is my things in my personal life can be left on hold. I'm still working on finding that magical thing called 'balance.' I'm not perfect but I'm way better than I was."

Letting go of expectations is key to reducing stress and improving mental health. "My wife may not agree," he says jokingly, "but being able to say 'this is good enough for now' is important. For example, our shower valves [handles] are broken. We have a pair of vise grips on the hot water side, acting as a handle. The tub spout is gone and instead there is a hose bib in its place. I could stress about it but I won't. The toll of stress exacts too high of a cost. We all have things in our lives that we just can't do as well as we'd like and it's real easy to let the stress of those undone chores or projects overwhelm us and cost us our mental health. Take some advice from this old guy and learn how to say 'good enough for now' whenever possible. Save perfection for those things that are non-negotiable."

Taking 100% care of their customer's needs is what the crew at John the Plumber does best. Give them a call at (661) 823-8031.

Update: As of the date of this issue, the Plumber has fixed his own shower.