How to Make Yourself Unbreakable | DJ Shipley

Huberman Lab

Scicomm Media

Science, Health & Fitness, Life Sciences

4.8 • 26.2K Ratings

🗓️ 6 October 2025

⏱️ 223 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

My guest is DJ Shipley, a retired Tier 1 operator Navy SEAL and now a top public educator on how to build mental and physical health and reach top-level performance in any endeavor. DJ’s life is one marked by extraordinary strivings, wins, setbacks and comebacks that together have shaped his approach to overcoming challenges of all kinds and to daily life. DJ explains a regimen of clear, practical steps and a mental stance that can allow anyone—male, female, young or old—to build extreme resilience of mind and body and to be successful in family and work. We also discuss his experience with new, emerging treatments for addiction, PTSD and depression that many people, not just veterans, are benefiting from. The tools DJ describes to “stack small wins” and to be ultra-intentional about your mindset will be of immense benefit to anyone wishing to achieve the best version of themselves. Read the episode show notes at hubermanlab.com. Thank you to our sponsors AGZ by AG1: https://drinkagz.com/huberman Rorra: https://rorra.com/huberman BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/huberman Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/huberman Function: https://functionhealth.com/huberman ROKA: https://roka.com/huberman Timestamps (0:00) DJ Shipley (4:03) Mental & Physical Health, Tools: Morning Routine & Micro-wins (8:35) Balancing Work & Family, Tools: Compartmentalization, "Control the Controllable" (13:46) Sponsors: Rorra & BetterHelp (16:25) Phones, Social Media vs Focus, Negativity, Tool: Consistency & Sleep (23:05) Routine & Stressors, Exercise & Benefits, Tool: Morning Workout (29:24) Body Awareness, Hurt vs Injury (33:53) Physical Injury & Rehab; Exercise; Mobility, Tool: 5-Day Workout Program (44:26) Sponsors: AGZ by AG1 & Eight Sleep (47:29) Skateboarding, Career, Navy SEAL, BUD/S & Embracing Discomfort (56:13) BUD/S, Motivation & Mental Resilience (1:02:18) Navy SEALs, Iraq War & Casualties, Compartmentalization (1:08:41) Public Press; Extortion 17, Operation Red Wings; Death of Friends (1:16:25) High Performers, Social Media Negativity & Legacy (1:19:37) Sponsor: Function (1:21:24) Family Legacy, Military & Purpose, Navy SEAL Culture, Wife & Relationship (1:30:10) Second Deployment, Helplessness & Trauma, Inspiration & Reverence (1:38:30) Skydiving, Injury & Mental Resilience; Medical Retirement & Addiction (1:49:17) Art Therapy, Skateboarding, Electrocution & Recovery (2:00:57) Physical Recovery, Trainer Vernon Griffith (2:04:38) Miracles, Higher Power; Work & Life Tension (2:12:52) Sponsor: ROKA (2:14:39) Physical & Mental Posture, Suicide, Depression, Tool: Control the Controllable (2:21:22) Suicide, Mental Health & Darkest Hour, Ibogaine, 5-MeO-DMT (2:31:18) Ibogaine & Empathy, 5-MeO-DMT & Ego Death; Returning Home, Tool: Dials Not Switches (2:42:42) Psychedelics, Mental Health Plasticity; Veterans' Solutions, Addiction (2:50:39) Medical Ibogaine, Anger, Numbing Out & Hate; Dogs (3:03:42) GBRS Program, High Standards, Functional Fitness, Tool: Fitness Test (3:17:50) Self-Care, Longevity & Fitness, GBRS Program (3:24:45) Self-Respect, Tools: 20-Minute Walk & Relationships; Micro-wins (3:32:57) Acknowledgements, American Flag Hat, Patriotism (3:40:00) Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow, Reviews & Feedback, Sponsors, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I had a lot of emotional stuff happening me in that second deployment.
0:04.8	You know, my idol, Maddie Roberts, I've talked about him a couple times.
0:09.1	I really, really hung on to that dude.
0:12.0	Like he was my true north.
0:13.7	He was the guy.
0:15.5	And when he got shot up, when you see it happen, you know, I think that was the, uh, the closest call for fire
0:23.9	mission, the entire Iraq war, like inside a 15 meters. I mean, Corey Mike, Mike from AC130 gunship.
0:31.8	I mean, it was on top of you, a bell fed machine gun just chewing us up. Everybody shot up,
0:37.4	except for me and one other guy and we're all crowded behind this tractor tire. Just you felt like a victim. Like I felt helpless. You know, I'm getting around, support all over me, and at a certain point you just go, I'd rather run back into the front of this thing and get killed with all of them than be the lone survivor. Welcome to the Huberman Lab podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life.
1:02.3	I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine.
1:08.6	My guest today is DJ Shipley.
1:10.9	DJ Shipley is a retired Navy SEAL who served for 17 years,
1:14.6	much of that time as a Tier 1 operator,
1:16.9	meaning part of an elite, highly selective special operation unit within the SEALs.
1:21.0	In recent years, DJ has emerged as a top public educator
1:23.9	on the topics of how to structure your days to maximize your mindset for sake of physical and mental health,
1:29.3	as well as performance in work or school
1:31.3	and to best support and build your closest relationships.
1:34.3	As you'll soon learn from DJ,
1:36.3	there are key points in your day when you can take
1:38.3	specific physical steps, including but not limited to physical exercise,
1:42.3	to shift your mind away from rumination, distraction,
	...

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