E plus R equals O
Change outcomes by changing your response to events
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 100%
E plus R equals O means Event plus Response equals Outcome. Canfield uses the equation to teach 100 percent responsibility without pretending people control external events. When an event occurs, blame, complaint, or excuse becomes part of the response and usually fails to improve the outcome. The controllable levers are thoughts, mental images, and behavior. Start by defining the outcome you actually want, then inspect whether your current response can produce it. If not, study responses used by people who succeed in comparable situations and choose a different thought, image, or action. The model shifts attention from determining fault to testing which available response creates greater joy, peace, health, freedom, success, or resolution.
Origin
Canfield learned 100 percent responsibility from W. Clement Stone and teaches it through the E plus R equals O equation.
Core principles
- 01Events do not determine outcomes alone
- 02Blame and complaint do not create resolution
- 03Control thoughts, images, and behavior
- 04Judge responses by the outcomes they produce
How to run it
- 1
Separate the event
Describe what happened without folding blame, complaint, or interpretation into the event itself.
Watch out Responsibility for your response does not erase another person's responsibility for their conduct.
- 2
Specify the outcome
State the result or experience you want instead of merely naming what you dislike.
Pro tip Use a concrete preferred outcome wherever possible.
- 3
Audit the response
Identify the thoughts, images, and behaviors you are currently bringing to the event.
Pro tip Include silent blame, not only what you say aloud.
- 4
Test the mechanism
Ask whether the current response can plausibly generate the desired outcome.
Watch out Emotional release and social agreement are not the same as resolution.
- 5
Choose a better response
Change a thought, image, or behavior, then observe the outcome it produces.
Pro tip Study effective people facing similar events for candidate responses.
In the wild
Canfield described a consultant who asks unhappy employees to rate their work life, explain why the score is not zero, describe what an eight would look like, and identify what they could do to help create it. The questions interrupt complaint and redirect attention toward a preferred outcome and a controllable response.
→ The employee moves from venting about the company to identifying actions that could improve the situation.
Common mistakes
Confusing fault with improvement
Finding someone to blame does not by itself produce a better outcome.
Trying to control the event
The framework focuses on responses under your control, not mastery over other people or external conditions.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for setbacks, recurring complaints, and situations where external events cannot be controlled directly.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal when taking responsibility is used to deny harm, remove another party's accountability, or ignore needed protection.
From the transcript
“Event plus response equals outcome.”
“There's only three responses you have any control over. Your thoughts, your images, and your behavior. That's it.”
“We can only control our response to things outside of us and notice what kind of outcome that produces.”
From the episode
#833: Jack Canfield — Selling 600+ Million Books, Success Principles, and How He Made The 4-Hour Workweek Happen
Jack Canfield