Why Slowing Down Feels Unsafe: A Navy SEAL on trauma, ego, and rebuilding presence

High performers are often told to slow down, reflect, and be more present. But for many, slowing down doesn’t feel calming. It feels unsafe.

In this episode of Drink Coffee. Do Cool Stuff., Jason Elrod sits down with retired Navy SEAL officer JJ Parma for a deeply honest conversation about elite performance, survival wiring, and what happens when discipline alone stops working.

JJ shares how ego can function as armor, why many leaders live in a constant future-focused state, and how unresolved trauma (often rooted long before adulthood) shapes how we lead, decide, and relate to the world. Together, they explore burnout not as weakness, but as a system failure, and presence not as softness, but as one of the hardest disciplines to master.

This conversation also touches on JJ’s personal journey of confronting root trauma, reframing healing as awareness rather than escape, and learning how to rebuild a life of clarity without losing edge, discipline, or purpose.

This episode isn’t about shortcuts or prescriptions. It’s about understanding why slowing down can feel dangerous and what becomes possible when awareness finally replaces survival mode.

Guest: JJ Parma
Retired Navy SEAL Officer | Human Performance Consultant | Founder, Fourth Phase Consulting

 Watch on YouTube (Limitless Cyber with Jason Elrod): Why Slowing Down Feels Unsafe

Connect with JJ Parma:
Website: The Fourth Phase Podcast with JJ Parma
LinkedIn: JJ Parma

Follow Jason Elrod
Website: LimitlessCyber.com
LinkedIn: Jason Elrod

Links from episode:
Netflix Dcoumentary: In Waves and War 

Drink Coffee. Do Cool Stuff. explores leadership, presence, and learning to show up well in uncertainty. Be present and lead with courage.