[00:00] Welcome back to the Focus B show. This is Katie Sudddart here aka the focus b. And on this show, I interview high performers and leaders around the world to discover their secrets on peak performance, productivity, mindfulness and leadership. So if you want to take your performance and your leadership to the next level, then you're in the right place. Listen up and connect with the magic.
[00:41] Do you have aphantasia or hyperphantasia? This is something I learned about not long ago, and I find it absolutely fascinating. Aphantasia is when you're not able to see images in your mind. So if you close your eyes and you recall a past memory, you don't actually see it in images. Hyperphantasia is the opposite. You will see very clear images, but on top of that, probably very clear sound, maybe even what it smelled like or tasted like. And you can maybe even feel the heat or the cold of that moment. So it's a very sort of acute perceptions, but in the mind, this is so interesting because it essentially shapes the way we remember things, the way we visualize things for the future, how we process information and even communication. So I discovered very recently that my husband has aphantasia. And though we've been together for almost ten years, I had no idea. So some people go through their whole life and don't realize it. He didn't realize it himself and that I'm close or have hypofantasia. So on that spectrum, I'm not sure how 100% hypo fantasia I am, but it's kind of the opposite. This is what aphantasia looks like from asking my husband Chris to give me his insights. So he doesn't see any images if he close his mind, if he looks back to a past memory, he can't see it, but he can remember it conceptually. So this means, from what I've understood, that it's like concepts and ideas all stacked on top of each other, a bit like a database, but without the actual clear picture and image. Now, for me, this is absolutely nuts because I just close my eyes and I remember it pretty much as if it was a painting or a photo, a film. And this is how I process life and information and also future visualizations. Now, if you do have apantagia, it's less than 5% of the population. Two. 3% of the population. It has pros and cons. On the positive side of things, it means you're going to be less marked by horror films or gruesome concepts, stories, ideas, et cetera, because you don't see it. You'll get over things faster. You won't grieve as much because you don't have the visual memory of things. And also, this means genuinely, that you're probably quite clear, logical, analytical, can process information quite well. Maybe you're the sort of person who just gets how things work, how they function, put them together. I know in Chris's case, that's definitely how he processes. He's an engineer and he can just put things together and just gets how everything works and functions. So that's sort of the positive side of aphrodisia. One of the downsides, of course, is not as much imagination. Maybe coming up with the story or drawing would be something that would be very difficult and challenging and also future visualization. So when I asked Chris, but how do you motivate yourself for goals? He just said, well, I build the process and concepts and then just take the action. Now, for me, when I have a goal in mind or vision, I see it. And what gets me all excited is I feel in my mind what it would be like to be in that place. I see myself going through the finishing line in a race and that feels so exciting. So it's the visualization that gets me motivated towards a vision and goal. So that would be maybe some of the downsides of aphantasia. Again, pros and cons, because the highly analytical side, logical side, and also the fact of processing different things and not being too attached, maybe they tend to be less nostalgic. I know that in Chris's case we can just get rid of all material possessions. It really doesn't do anything to him. So there's a sort of less attachment to a lot of things, which is a strength in many ways. Now, if we look at hyperfantasia, on the other hand, again, pros and cons. So although it sounds amazing to be able to see things really clearly in your mind, to be able to even smell the flowers that day, feel the warm of the sun against your skin and pick up on all of that. Wonderful for imagination, wonderful for art, for creating a story. I know that when I've written short stories or poems or anything like that, I could see the whole scene in my mind. But what I also notice is, and that's what I used to often say is I have an overactive imagination which can then lead to paranoia, can lead to worry, can lead to imagining disaster scenarios, catastrophizing. And this is because your imagination is so vivid and you see things so clearly that you can both paint a beautiful picture in your mind and write a short story or a disaster scenario and freak out and worry even though nothing is happening. So this is also what happens when you have hyperphantasia. And then of course, that's again 5% or less of the population and most people are on a spectrum. And so what's interesting here is start to look at how do you visualize things. So if you close your eyes and you remember a past memory, do you see it first of all? And if you don't, you have aphantasia, which again is fine, but it just means that you don't see things and you process things differently. And if you do see it, is it very clear? Can you add the sounds? Do you remember the conversation, the smell, the feeling, because there's a whole spectrum of fantasia. What I'm not clear about, and it's definitely something I want to look into more and research is, is it possible for someone that has aphantasia to learn how to visualize things? Or is it just they just won't see in their mind ever? And is it possible for people that have hyperphantasia to start to think less in terms of senses, but more in terms of concepts? And I know this is something I've definitely done before, especially in my past job as an engineer. I wouldn't be just imagining all the time. I would also be processing information in terms of concepts and idea and information. So I think from people that are towards the hyperphantasia, it's still possible to get more concept like or logic and math and physics and all of that. But maybe it's easier for the people who have aphantasia because that's kind of how their brain works, which is super interesting. And again, this is something to take into account when you're communicating with someone. I think this is fascinating as a coach, because I tend to use visualization a lot. So then actually making sure, is it someone that can actually visualize it? Might want to use different words if you're communicating with someone. And yeah, start to notice where you are on the fantasia spectrum. And is this something you want to develop if you're someone that has sort of medium fantasia, do you want to start to be better at remembering sounds or images and using this in creative work, in writing stories, in composing music and doing pictures? Because I do think that these skills can be trained, but I tend to believe that everything can be trained. That's the whole growth mindset side of things. Anyway. I just think this is fascinating. I've spent the last two days quizzing Chris on all the advantage of things, but can you visualize a blue box? And he can't, and I'm just totally blown away. So if this is new information for you, maybe you're having this epiphany moment where you realize you have ashantasia or hyperphantasia or someone in your life does and it sort of changes the way you see things. But the bottom line is we all process things in different ways anyway. And people go through life with one or the other, processing absolutely fine. The idea is just to A, be aware we do it differently, and B, think, is it something that you want to use in your advantage in some way? If you have aphantagia, that logic thing is probably very high. Can you use more of this in your life? Can you optimize that strength? And if you're someone with hyperphantasia, start painting, start writing stories, start using this strong imagination and visualization for great things, because not everyone has it. And I think that's sort of one of the key aspects here. Sort of random episode today. But I find this topic absolutely fascinating. Hope you enjoyed it. Leave me in the comment. Do you have aphantasia hyperphantasia? Do you want to work on your inner visualizations abilities? Let me know. Thank you so much for tuning in today. Wishing you a fantastic day.
[10:09] Thank you so much for tuning in today to the Focus B show. I would absolutely love to hear your feedback. So let me know in an Apple review or YouTube comment what was most valuable for you, and feel free to share this episode with the friend or a family member. Wishing you a wonderful, magical and focused day ahead.