The Circle of Excellence is one of the most elegant and immediately practical techniques in the NLP practitioner toolkit. It uses spatial anchoring — associating a specific physical location (a circle you imagine on the floor) with a powerful internal state — so that you can step into that state at will, whenever you need it most.
It was developed by John Grinder and Carmen Bostic St. Clair and is widely used in performance coaching, sports psychology, and leadership development. Here's how to create and use yours.
What Is the Circle of Excellence?
The Circle of Excellence is a spatial anchor. When you associate a particular mental and physical state with a specific imagined location (the circle), you can re-activate that state by stepping into that location mentally or physically. The technique works through the same neurological mechanism as all anchoring — Pavlovian conditioning applied to internal states.
Unlike kinesthetic anchors (squeezing a knuckle, for example), the spatial anchor is especially powerful because it engages your full body and proprioceptive system — and because the circle becomes a ritual that reliably signals to your nervous system that a peak state is incoming.
Step-by-Step: Creating Your Circle of Excellence
Choose your peak state
Decide what state you want to anchor. Confidence? Focus? Calm power? Playful creativity? Be specific — "confident" is better than "good". You'll be recalling specific memories of this state, so the clearer your target, the more precise the anchor.
Imagine the circle on the floor
Stand up. Imagine a circle approximately 60cm in diameter on the floor just in front of you. Give it a color, texture, and perhaps even a sound or glow. This circle is the physical container for your peak state — make it vivid and real in your mind's eye.
Access a peak memory fully
Think of a specific time when you felt exactly the state you want — peak confidence, laser focus, calm authority. See it, hear it, feel it fully. Step fully back into that memory as if it's happening now — not watching yourself, but experiencing it from the inside. Intensify all the sensory details.
Step into the circle at peak intensity
As the positive feeling builds to its peak — just before it naturally begins to fade — step physically into your imagined circle. Let the feeling flood through your body. Stand in your fullest expression of that state. Hold it for 15–30 seconds.
Step out and interrupt
Step back out of the circle. Shake off the state (move differently, think of something neutral). Wait until you're back at neutral. This "interruption" is critical — it preserves the integrity of the anchor by returning your baseline to neutral before re-testing.
Add more peak memories and stack the anchor
Repeat steps 3–5 with 3–5 more peak memories of the same type of state. Each addition "stacks" the anchor, making it more powerful and more robust. The first anchor alone may be useful; five stacked anchors become a powerful trigger.
Test and deploy
Step into the circle and notice what happens. Does the state return? Does it feel immediate and automatic? If yes, your anchor is set. Before any important situation — presentation, difficult conversation, performance — step into your circle mentally or physically to pre-activate the state.
Applications
- Presentations: Step into your confidence circle before taking the stage
- Sports: Athletes use spatial anchors before serving, free throws, or race starts
- Difficult conversations: Access calm, grounded authority before high-stakes discussions
- Creative work: Anchor a state of open, playful creativity to access on demand
- Coaching sessions: Enter a state of focused presence and empathy before each client session
📚 NLP Training Resources
Practitioner manuals, study guides, and the best NLP books for deepening your anchoring and state management skills.
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