Self 1 and Self 2: The Two Voices Within Every Trader
Why your biggest edge is knowing when you’re in judgment vs. in presence.
You’re reading the Thursday Trader’s Tip — the free edition of this newsletter with trading psychology wisdom in under 5 min. Want deeper insights, coaching tools, and access to live webinars? Try the paid plan.
When we’re trading, we assume it’s just us. One person, one mind, one decision-maker.
But that’s not true.
Inside every performer, there are actually two beings:
One is the part that’s capable of doing the job — focused, present, performing.
The other is the one constantly watching, evaluating, and judging how well you’re doing.
And that split is at the core of why you underperform.
I’m rereading The Inner Game of Tennis right now, it’s fascinating how each time I see it differently. Timothy Gallwey calls these two beings Self 1 and Self 2.
Self 1 is the chatterbox in your head — the critic, the evaluator, the one that interferes with performance.
Self 2 is the performer itself — the focused and present state where peak performance has space to emerge.
Think back: how many times have you felt your trading was going fine, until your own thoughts got in the way?
In tennis, trading, or any performance skill, there’s the body of experience that knows what to do — the years of repetition, the instincts, the skills. That’s Self 2. Then there’s the layer of consciousness, Self 1, that reminds you of your goals, the pressure, the expectations… this is where suboptimal performance begins.
Let me show you how this plays out in real time. Say you start your session focused, thinking in probabilities. Then you’re stopped out of a valid trade. Self 1 immediately jumps in: “That’s one step back from financial freedom.” That thought alone is the seed of your next mistake.
Here’s the thing: Mistakes never come from Self 2.
From the Self 2 perspective, the only thing that exists is the now. A red trade is just that — one trade. There’s no timeline, no past to resolve, no future to achieve.
You might ask, “But aren’t there emotions in Self 2?” Yes, there are emotions — but they’re tied to the present moment. Calm, clarity, freedom, joy. When emotions come from Self 2, they feel clean.
From Self 1, emotions feel like interference. Overconfidence after a win. Fear of giving profits back. Frustration when you miss an entry. Excitement when you think you’re close to “finally making it.” These can only exist in the past/future. See the difference?
That’s why traders think emotions are the problem when it’s about where those emotions are coming from. When you strip away past and future, the hopes disappear, there’s nothing to achieve. The new car, the house, the beach life… gone. What’s left is your highest state of presence.
I was talking with a trader the other day, and he said, “I can think in probabilities for weeks, even months, but my biggest problem is when certain conditions trigger me back into an outcome-focused mindset. The problem isn’t drifting away — it’s not noticing it or not giving it enough importance.”
You’ll always have both inside you — Self 1, the judger, and Self 2, the presence. The question is which one you keep choosing.
Most traders don’t even realize Self 2 exists… Their brain only knows what performance from Self 1 feels like.
But here’s the thing:
Until you know what performance from Self 2 feels like, you’ll keep defaulting back to Self 1. If you’ve never trained that, your brain has no reference point. Even your best trading day will just reinforce Self 1 desires — the house, the pool, the car. Not the pure joy of executing well in the moment. In reality, that’s the only goal.
The present is the only place trading happens. And yes, working on past trauma or building strong beliefs is important — but you can only use that work when you’re in Self 2. If you can’t access Self 2, then you can’t access your best performing state.
So strive to discover what your best performance feels like when you’re rooted in Self 2. Study it. Internalize it. Notice the patterns.
Just like you track your worst patterns, you need to track your best ones too. Otherwise, your brain has no map.
On October 4th, I’m hosting a webinar on The Power of Maximizing Your Self-Awareness. We’ll dive into how to notice when you’re in Self 1, how to shift into Self 2, and how to use awareness as a direct tool to improve trading performance. If this post resonated, that session will take it to the next level. It’s for paid subscribers — you can register here.
Peaceful trading,
Sara
Check out my latest YouTube video where I break down the parallels between prop firms and casinos—and reveal 5 key steps to manage your prop account with consistency:
Related Reads:
You nailed it with the conscious mind judging and interrupting the subconscious performance, as two voices inside me. It helps me to give each voice a name, making it easier to ask the judging one to leave.
Bob Rotella talks about this in his book, How Champions Think (highly recommend it)
Def will be reading The Inner Game of Tennis. Thanks, Sara!