Hey, it’s Rafic.
Welcome back to this week’s edition of Peak Performance Insider.
The word meditation is intimidating.
When I hear it, my first instinct is to turn around and run. When I ask someone if they meditate, they want to run. And when someone asks me if I meditate, I want to do the same.
The word carries a lot of baggage, spiritual, religious, mystical. But in its simplest form, meditation is just paying attention on purpose.
It doesn’t mean sitting cross-legged for an hour. It doesn’t mean clearing your mind of thoughts. It doesn’t even mean “being spiritual.”
At its core, meditation is breath. It’s noticing. It’s the pause that resets you before you dive back into the noise.
And if you think you don’t have time for it, here’s the paradox: meditation is actually the one practice that gives time back.
📌 Today’s Agenda
✅ Why meditation is about presence, not perfection
✅ How even one breath can stretch time
✅ Simple everyday ways to practice (no cushion required)
✅ Taking it up a notch with breathwork and box breathing
First time reading?
🔗 Best Links - My Favorite Finds
🧠 Personal Growth & Mindset
🔹 Why Kindness Matters – The ripple effects of compassion and mindfulness in daily life.
👥 Leadership & Influence
🔹 How to Respond Authentically (Not React) – Why leaders who pause and reflect build more trust than those who react on impulse.
📈 Productivity & Habits
🔹 6 Things Productivity Experts Do Returning from Vacation – Resetting with small, sustainable practices.
💪 Health & Wellness
🔹 Huberman’s Complete Guide to “Non-Sleep Deep Rest” – A powerful alternative to napping that overlaps with meditation and breathwork.
✍️ Deep Dive: Meditation as Time Travel
Meditation has a reputation problem. People think it takes time they don’t have. But here’s the paradox: meditation doesn’t cost time, it creates it.
Think about the difference between an hour spent doomscrolling and one mindful minute spent breathing. The hour is gone before you know it. But the minute feels spacious, almost stretched.
That’s what meditation does. It changes your relationship with time.
When you pause to breathe, you step out of the rush and into the present. One mindful inhale, one mindful exhale, and suddenly you’ve slowed down the clock.
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Stress feels lighter. You’re not racing ahead in your mind.
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Decisions feel clearer. You’re not dragged around by urgency.
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Moments feel richer. You actually experience them instead of missing them.
This is why the busiest people are the ones who benefit most from meditation. It doesn’t take them away from life, it gives them life back.
The practice is simple: notice when your mind drifts, and return. Every return is a rep. Every rep stretches time.
Meditation isn’t about escaping life. It’s about living more of it.
💡 Practical Shifts to Try
Start here:
✅ Redefine it. Don’t call it meditation if that word scares you. Call it pausing, breathing, or resetting.
✅ Take one slow inhale, one slow exhale. That counts.
✅ Anchor it to something you already do (coffee, commute, shower).
✅ Notice when your mind drifts, returning is the practice.
✅ End with gratitude for showing up.
⬆️ Taking It Up a Notch
Once those small pauses feel natural, you can build more structure. This is where breathwork comes in.
➡️ Box Breathing: Inhale for 4. Hold for 4. Exhale for 4. Hold for 4. Repeat a few rounds. Perfect for calming nerves before a tough meeting or conversation.
➡️ Elongated Exhale: Inhale for 4, exhale for 6–8. This activates the body’s relaxation response.
➡️ String it together: Do these patterns for 10, 15, 20 minutes. Without forcing it, you’ll slip into a meditative state. Not because you chased it, but because you created the conditions for it to happen.
Think of it like fitness: start with one push-up, then two, then twenty. You build capacity over time.
⚡️ Work With Me
In coaching, I’ve seen how a simple pause can completely shift someone’s performance.
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The leader who stopped rushing into every decision, and started taking one breath before responding.
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The professional who thought they needed an hour to “properly” meditate, but discovered that five mindful minutes during lunch kept their energy steady through the afternoon.
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The parent who stopped negotiating against themselves at home and used short pauses to respond calmly instead of react.
Meditation isn’t a magic pill, but it is a practice of clarity. And when clarity shows up, performance follows.
Where do you need more clarity in your life? Start with one pause today.
📩 And if you’d like support building practices that last, email me at [email protected] - I read every response.
🎯 That's a Wrap
Meditation doesn’t start with robes and incense. It starts with a single breath.
Try it once today. Then tomorrow. Then the next.
And when you’re ready, expand it into something deeper like box breathing, chanting a mantra or longer sessions.
Presence is a skill. The more reps you put in, the stronger it gets.
Until next week,
— Rafic
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