Three practice tools: inner alignment before joint action
Personal ObliNet — where alignment begins
Before making agreements with other people, it is useful to understand what is happening within ourselves.
We may want one thing, automatically react in a different way, follow habitual internal rules and overlook our actual capabilities.
For example, someone agrees to help because they find it difficult to say no, even though they know they do not have enough time. This creates a commitment they may be unable to fulfil.
The idea of personal ObliNet is to help people notice contradictions between their reactions, values, internal expectations and actual circumstances, so that they can consciously choose their actions and commitments.
This is a research direction, not a ready-made system for automatically aligning internal processes.
Where to start
Three independent practice tools help develop individual abilities:
State — noticing your own tension, activation and relaxation, and trying to change your way of responding intentionally.
Perspective — considering a situation from the positions of “Self”, “Other” and “Observer”, and moving towards a choice of joint action.
Attention — returning to what is actually happening now, distinguishing observations, assumptions and habitual expectations.
The external practice tools open in English.
From personal choice to collaboration
The practice tools help prepare for conscious choices of actions and commitments:
- I notice my reaction. I pay attention to my state and to where my attention is directed.
- I clarify what matters to me. I distinguish my values, desires, habitual internal rules and ideas about other people.
- I compare possible actions. I consider my capabilities and the consequences for others.
- I make my own decision. I accept, clarify or decline the proposed commitment.
In this way, personal choice becomes a starting point for collaboration. The practice tools support individual skills involved in this preparation, but do not replace a person’s decision.
How this relates to ObliNet
External ObliNet explores the coordination of commitments between people and organisations.
The personal level concerns how a person reaches their own decision: noticing internal contradictions, clarifying what matters to them, assessing actual capabilities and choosing which commitment they are willing to accept.
The practice tools may help prepare for this choice. They do not make decisions for the person or create commitments to other participants.
What is already available
Three separate exercises in awareness of your state, perspective and attention.
They can be used independently, including before an important conversation or the coordination of a joint action.
These exercises have not yet been combined into a system for analysing internal conflicts, values and commitments.
What remains to be tested
Does regular practice help people notice automatic reactions earlier, account more accurately for their own position and another person’s circumstances, and make more deliberate commitments that they can fulfil?
It is important to evaluate not only how the exercise feels, but also changes in actual behaviour: can the person use the skills learned without prompts, in new situations?
The usefulness of the practice tools for coordinating joint work remains a research hypothesis.