Tuesday, December 10, 2013

E+R=O

On our path we encounter many teachers by way of friends, family and authors.  Through books, CDs, DVDs and seminars we can learn many helpful things.

One of the many teachers that have impacted us is Jack Canfield, co-creator of Chicken Soup for the Soul.  My husband and I have really benefited from his audios on personal growth.  We even went to one of his seminars in Toronto

Although we learned many things from Jack, there is one tool he shared that impressed upon me the power we have to make a choice. This tool is in the form of an equation, E+R=O.

E stands for Event – This could be anything from a loss, as we have been discussing, to an everyday event we may encounter.

  To name a few examples—someone cuts you off in traffic, someone says something hurtful, a family member does something inconsiderate, something breaks down and the list goes on.

R stands for Response -- Typically, when these things happen, we React to them, but what if we were to choose a response instead?

O stands for Outcome – Our responses will in turn bring us an outcome.

So here you have it:
E                      +                      R                     =                      O
Event               +                     Response         =                     Outcome

Another way to look at this equation is to ask “How would I like things to turn out?” By thinking of our “desired outcome” first, we can then choose an appropriate response. 

Basically, we are changing the equation, (like we used to do in math) to:

Event               -                       Outcome         =                      Response

If we simply react, we may end up further away from our desired outcome.  By giving conscious thought to the outcome we would like to see, we can choose the response that is more apt to get us there.

In this way, we are not allowing the event to evoke a reaction.  We are taking back our power, the power to choose!


~ Sherry Buikema

2 comments:

  1. What terrific insight into human behavior and how to change it. Great stuff!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Feeling blessed to have learned it and happy to share it. So simple, yet so empowering.

    ReplyDelete

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