Gallwey calls the conscious self ‘Self 1’, and the unconscious, automatic self ‘Self 2’. He starts with the assumption that the way Self 1 talks to Self 2 might hold the key to sporting success and failure. He tells us to imagine these two components of the mind as different people and then to imagine what we would think of the relationship between these two individuals if we were to overhear what was being said in the endless, repetitive and often insulting instructions given by Self 1 to his or her silent partner.
