The Light Phase: Why You Trade Your Best After a Blowup
And how to access that state without the crash.
It’s the first Sunday of the month, which means I’m unlocking a paid post for everyone.
If you want to have access to all posts, coaching techniques, mental frameworks, and live webinars, upgrade to paid:
Some traders describe it as a day. Others, a week. A stretch of time where they feel completely in sync:
Executing clearly
No overthinking
No chasing
They follow their system, respond differently to problematic triggers, and describe it as being “emotionally light.”
And then one day…
… It’s gone.
They make a mistake, and a loss takes on a heavier meaning. They make an impulsive entry, then an oversized trade. The spiral begins again.
Looking back, they can’t point the finger at what shifted. It was subtle, yet everything changed.
Why did everything feel so light before… and why is it so tense now?
Today, let’s look closer at this shift. We’ll cover:
The hidden reward of emotional blowups
How to recognize the subtle buildup of pressure before you spiral
A simple 2-step process to release tension and stay in your light, grounded state
Let’s dive in
Why Your Best Trading Feels Like a Glimpse of the Real You
The light phase becomes a marker in your mind.
Proof that you're capable of trading from a different place — one that’s not about needing to be right.
You feel grounded, like you've become the trader you’ve been chasing.
And once you experience that version of yourself, the bar is raised, and self-confidence follows: You know you can be a great trader.
The Hidden Reward That Keeps You Stuck in the Cycle
The thing about this light phase is that most traders experience it after a blowout.
Why? Because it’s the first time they’re finally free from internal pressure.
No more goals.
No more expectations.
No more need to win.
You exploded, released all that inner pressure, and now the emotional weight drops. You’re just… light.
And from that lightness, you execute with ease.
But what seems to be centered execution is just the beginning of the cycle of accumulation.
The cycle goes like this:
Blowout – a major mistake, spiral, or emotional breakdown
Light Phase – the pressure drops, you feel free, you trade well
Tension Build-Up – subtle return of expectations, ego, mistakes…
Revenge/Impulse Trading – acting out the pressure
Blowout – release through destruction
... and it starts again.
The blowout becomes the worst thing that happens to you — and the best.
Because it gives you the relief that finally allows your best self to show up.
This creates a toxic feedback loop. Your brain starts linking:
Emotional breakdown → Relief → Perfect execution
That’s a dopamine reinforcement around destruction. And it’s why traders unconsciously repeat the impulsivity pattern.
You Don’t Need to Crash to Trade Well Again
Here’s what most traders miss:
The blowup doesn’t just release P&L. It releases accumulated emotional energy: pressure, expectations, self-judgment, ego, guilt.
All that buildup has to go somewhere. And when it has nowhere to go, it explodes through overtrading, sabotage, revenge… until boom — relief.
The question is:
How do you stay in that light, grounded state, without having to blow up first?
Short answer:
You need to release the pressure gradually, every day, as part of your process.
How to Stay in the Light Phase Without Collapsing First
Your job isn’t to suppress emotion. It’s to release the emotional charge before it builds up.
You do this in two steps:
#1 Catch the Warning Signs
If you want to stop the cycle, you have to know yourself well enough to notice the early signs of buildup.
Common examples are:
You start checking PnL mid-trade
You journal less, or rush your prep rituals
You hesitate on a setup you’d normally take
You feel the urge to make up for missing a day or trade
You start talking to yourself more emotionally — “I have to take this one”
These signs are seen in both action and thought. They can also be small mistakes, but most importantly, they’re signals.
And they’re telling you: something’s getting heavy again.
#2 Release Tension
Nick Saban—legendary head coach of Alabama football—talks about "The Process" — a way of focusing on the next play, not the outcome.
When things go wrong, players are trained to reset instantly from mistakes, lost matches, unfair referee judgments, etc.
In trading, if you carry a poor trade emotionally into the next one, you’re compounding pressure. And that pressure needs an exit plan.
The collapse doesn’t come from the pressure, but from carrying it too long without releasing it.
Energy releasers I’ve seen from traders are:
Take one day off when warning signs show up
Reflect on their “lighter self” and reinforce their why
Talk it out with a coaching session or accountability partner
Revisit past journals of when they were most aligned
The point isn’t the method — it’s the awareness.
You’re not fixing. You’re releasing, before things get too loud.
In Closing
The phase of light execution is what remains when all the pressure is gone. And while it often follows a blowout, it doesn’t have to.
You can return to that state by recognizing when the weight returns and choosing to put it down before it breaks you.
Love,
Sara
Related Reads:
Visit all unlocked posts here.