Over the weekend I was sitting around with a bunch of my friends at a picnic.
When I am at a party, at least one of my friends usually pulls me aside.
“Hey, Mike, I was wondering if you can take a look at something for me. I hurt my shoulder about a week ago and the pain won’t go away.”
“Did you do anything about it?” I asked.
“I took some Advil, but it really didn’t help”, he said.
I evaluated his shoulder and arrived at a working diagnosis of a rotator cuff tear. I told my friend that he would most likely need to have treatment for two to four weeks and that he should determine which provider and what facility are covered by his insurance.
He complained that his co-pay is $40 for every visit and he questioned why there isn’t a pill he can take to fix his problem. I told him there is medicine to block the pain, but the medicine won’t fix the problem.
He is in the contracting business. He works with his body every day. If he doesn’t get his shoulder repaired, he may do further damage and, more importantly, may not even be able to do the type of work he does.
“Okay”, I say. “Let’s put it this way. At $40 per visit with a typical treatment parameter of 6 to 12 visits, you can expect to pay out $240 to $480. How much are you worth? “
He replied, “That’s a lot of money.” I reminded him that if he can’t return to work or if he loses his job, he would be out way more than $480. Fortunately, he listened and invested his money in some treatment. He lucked out as he felt much better after only eight visits.
So my question to you is: How much are you willing to invest in yourself?
Are you willing to purchase healthier foods, go to the doctor when necessary, pay for a gym membership, or purchase a new piece of exercise equipment?
Investing is not just about money.
Are you willing to invest in your education, possibly returning to school to get a degree or a certificate?
Are you willing to invest in motivational seminars and materials?
Are you willing to invest in working with a wellness coach or a personal trainer?
Are you willing to invest in your time and learn a new hobby?
As a society we have a tendency to spend money on products or things that provide immediate gratification as opposed to investing our time or finances in something that will produce a great return on that investment.
Think of it this way. You are willing to save money each week or each paycheck towards your savings /retirement (or at least I hope you are). What are you willing to invest in yourself each week?
The greatest investment is YOU!
To Your Health, Wealth & Happiness!
Dr. Michael J. Kaye
Knowledge, Action, Results
To learn more about my e-book please log onto http://tinyurl.com/2hqf44
Monday, September 8, 2008
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2 comments:
Well I would have to agree; too many of us worshiping false idols, aka "things". I see and meet a lot of people during my son’s weekly PT/Fitness sessions. A room filled with people trying to lift their leg an inch or get their hand to go higher than the height of their ear. I never hear conversations about; oh I wish I had this new gadget or that new thing in style. I hear memories of their pasts and hopes for their futures. Thoughts like, "I hope to be able to pick up my granddaughter again". They set small goals and applaud their progress. It is never about things and there is never any regret or guilt in doing what is best for their health. All of these people, me included have come to the realization that they matter, and the effort is worth their time and effort and if they have it, their money.
It is a shame too that money seems to play such a big role in our self worth. I have heard it said that to find out what kind of person someone really is, give them a ton of money. I have met people who are wealthy and brag about having the best of this and the newest of that and have top notch health insurance which is great but then they sit around smoking, drinking, and eating expensive name brand trendy food that when you read the label you think, there's no food in this food. Then there are others who live a modest life on a small income, grow some veggies in their back yard, read labels, take walks and invest in themselves and their loved ones...wealth does not cure a lack of common sense.
I appreciate how your article focuses on investing in ourselves rather than improving ourselves. Years ago I trademarked the phrase: The investments we make in ourselves always deliver the most profitable rewards.
Your article makes it clear that these profitable rewards are: our health, longevity and well being.
I have met many people who “bandaid” the symptom instead of investing in healing the cause. You have a wonderful creative way of explaining the importance of measuring the short term temporary fix vs the long term gain.
Thank you.
Namaste’
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