If you're a coach who tells your team to, "Control the controllables", then you need to teach E R=O and the mindset that drives it.
Event Response = Outcome
It's hard to control the controllables when you're wasting attention, time, and energy trying to control the uncontrollables.
That's what happens when coaches don't clearly define what is controllable and what is not, and don't systematically teach how to deal with what can't be controlled by controlling ourselves.
The E R=O Mindset solves that by internalizing 3 truths:
1. "I can influence events, but I can't control them."
- Opponents, refs, weather, injuries. They're all events. Some you can affect, some you can't, but none you control.
2. "I control my response and I'm the only one who controls my response."
- Your response is the only lever in your control and your only true power. What you think, feel, say, do, and how you do it is 100% yours to decide. No one else has the ability control your thoughts, decisions, or actions.
3. "I create outcomes, but I don't control them."
- This is the hardest mindset to fully believe and adopt. Your response is your best chance to create the outcome you want. But outcomes are never in your total control. Choices and actions have consequences and create outcomes, but that doesn't mean you dictate and control outcomes. If you had that power, your life would look much different.
When you do the work to strengthen your E R=O mindset, three things happen for you:
1. You stop getting into a war with reality.
2. You feel more in control.
3. You see more opportunity.
You stop wasting energy on what will never work and naturally start focusing on what actually works.
Without this mindset first, E R=O is just a concept, words with no real impact.
But with the E R=O mindset, you gain the ability and power to create outcomes with consistency and excellence.