Realizing that the benefits outweigh the costs (health and financial). In my case, the benefits would be avoiding the annoyances of glasses/contacts (cleaning them, reshaping the frames when they get bent, moisture, buying new ones) but given that the surgery might not result perfect vision or even cause new problems (halos, night vision, having to redo the surgery after ~10 years) it's not worth it. Plus, I'm less vain and more frugal now.