Attending a workshop on understanding financial statements and results, I came across an accounting principle that translates well into other life experiences. As a person who has disliked the subject since my Accounting 101 days at Kent State, I was surprised there was a useful lesson from accounting to be learned other than balancing my checkbook.
“Is the return worth the effort?”
The above statement was framed around a discussion on how financial decision makers go about analyzing financial results. It is the true test when making investments in new products, markets, technology and other expenses. If the return you receive is greater than the effort you expend, you made a good investment.
Living in the bariatric world, there is a great emphasis placed on the return a person gets from their weight loss surgery. The majority of bariatric patients measure that return in decreasing numbers on the scale and waistline. Pounds and inches lost do indeed count. They are tangible returns as an accountant might say. In other words, the numbers support the results.
Savvy bariatric patients know that the truly revealing results of success after weight loss surgery tend to be intangible. Changes in mindset leading to a healthier diet, frequent exercise, stronger relationships and a positive self-image are the returns that will foster further growth and success in the years to come.
Realizing these results and rewards is only possible if you are willing to invest your energies into the efforts that lead to success after weight loss surgery. If you are struggling, it pays to take an honest look at the effort you are putting into your success. Personally, I recognize that I need to step up my efforts if I find myself in too comfortable of a place that fails to challenge me.
It is just as important to recognize that some challenges present themselves that no effort you can expend will change them. This gives you the opportunity to invest more effort into the things under your personal control. Keep your eyes on the results looking for new ways to invest your time, talents and energies to give you the returns you seek.
Return is what you get out of the investments you make. It is true in the financial world. It is true in the greater world. This accounting principle is a perfect tool to use in attaining success.
For the bariatric patient, weight loss surgery was the financial investment that you made to improve your life. However, it is not the greatest or most important investment you need to make. To realize life-changing results, bariatric patients need to invest their time, dreams, abilities, hopes, and desires in making results visible and lasting.
Just like an accountant, make good investments. The returns come quite naturally.
Tom