Sport • Esports • Exams • High-Pressure Situations
(Reading, Didcot & Online)
Performance coaching often assumes that success comes from visualisation — imagining success, picturing outcomes, or replaying mental images.
For people with aphantasia or non-visual thinking styles, that advice isn’t just unhelpful — it can actively interfere with performance.
This page is for people who:
- Don’t visualise
- Think in words, concepts, or sensations
- Perform under pressure
- Want results without being asked to “picture it”
Performance does not depend on mental imagery. It depends on state, attention, nervous system regulation, and execution.
MAIL@THEEXCELPRACTICE.COM OR CALL 07807 540142
Performance With Aphantasia — The Real Issue
People with aphantasia often perform well — until pressure increases.
Common experiences include:
- Overthinking during competition or exams
- Mental noise under pressure
- Loss of flow or timing
- Hesitation in key moments
- Strong preparation but inconsistent execution
- Being told to “visualise success” — which doesn’t work
This is not a lack of ability.
It’s a mismatch between standard performance advice and how your mind actually works.
Performance Without Visualisation — How It Works
Peak performance relies on:
- Calm, regulated nervous system
- Clear attention
- Reduced internal interference
- Fast decision-making
- Trust in trained skills
None of these require imagery.
In fact, for non-visual thinkers, forcing visualisation often increases cognitive load and pressure, making performance worse.
My work focuses on performance states, not pictures.
Where This Applies
Sport Performance
For athletes who:
- Lose confidence under pressure
- Overthink technique mid-performance
- Struggle with consistency
- Choke despite strong training
We work on:
- State regulation
- Internal dialogue
- Focus and timing
- Flow thresholds
- Emotional control under pressure
No imagery required.
Esports & Competitive Gaming
Esports performance is heavily cognitive and emotional.
Players with aphantasia often struggle with:
- Tilt
- Decision overload
- Clutch anxiety
- LAN pressure
- Sleep disruption
Performance work focuses on:
- Attention control
- Emotional regulation
- Cognitive throughput
- Flow-state stabilisation
- Recovery and reset
Again — no visualisation used.
Exams, Tests & Academic Performance
For students and professionals facing:
- Exam anxiety
- Mental blanks
- Overthinking answers
- Pressure-induced mistakes
Performance improves by working on:
- Nervous system regulation
- Attention narrowing
- Internal dialogue
- Confidence under evaluation
Not imagining outcomes.
How Performance Coaching Is Adapted for Aphantasia
Sessions focus on:
- Internal dialogue and self-talk
- Sensation and felt sense
- Emotional response patterns
- Meaning and belief under pressure
- Nervous system state
- Behavioural execution
We remove mental interference, rather than adding techniques that don’t fit.
Methods Used (Non-Visual by Design)
Performance Psychology
- Confidence under pressure
- Attention control
- Post-error recovery
- Challenge vs threat states
NLP (Non-Visual)
- Language patterns
- State change
- Belief and identity
- Meaning under pressure
Mind–Body Regulation
- Breath
- Tension release
- Arousal control
- Recovery
Adapted Hypnotherapy
- Subconscious integration
- Confidence stabilisation
- Emotional regulation
- Flow-state access
No scripts. No imagery. No pretending to “see” things.
A Key Advantage of Aphantasia in Performance
Many people with aphantasia:
- Are less distracted by imagery
- Think clearly under complexity
- Process information logically
- Stay grounded in sensation and reality
When performance coaching matches this cognitive style, aphantasia often becomes an advantage, not a limitation.
Who This Page Is For
This approach is ideal if you:
- Have aphantasia
- Don’t visualise naturally
- Perform under pressure
- Compete, test, or perform publicly
- Want flow without forcing it
Sessions & Locations
I work with clients:
- In Reading, Berkshire
- In Didcot, Oxfordshire
- Online, UK & internationally
Sessions are calm, focused, and practical — tailored to how your mind works.
Next Steps
If performance advice based on visualisation has never worked for you, you’re not broken — you’ve just been given the wrong tools.
Performance coaching adapted for aphantasia can help you:
- Think more clearly under pressure
- Perform more consistently
- Access flow without forcing it
MAIL@THEEXCELPRACTICE.COM OR CALL 07807 540142