Vision, Speed, and Focus
WHEN life is racing past, it helps to look up.
One of the first and most important lessons I learned from racing cars and riding motorcycles was about vision.
“Keep your head up, and look as far into the turn or corner as you can. Keep your eyes fixed as far ahead of you as possible, and look where you want to go.”
When you’re moving fast, the interaction between your vision and your brain become crucial for processing information, making quick decisions, and coordinating responses that improve performance. Then there’s the remarkable distinction between the two unique aspects of human vision that we learned about in school (what - you don’t remember???) - central and peripheral vision.
And I think you’ll find the science here has broader implications in your life.
You see, your central vision is focused on your central point of gaze. It involves the region of the retina called the fovea, which is responsible for detailed and high resolution vision. Central vision relies primarily on cone cells in the the retina which are specialized for this work. It’s the part of vision you use to read books and recognize faces.
Things that require FOCUS.
Your peripheral vision, on the other hand, includes everything outside the central vision. It provides a broader but less detailed view of your surroundings. It’s powered by rod cells, which are specialized for detecting motion and changes in light. This part of your vision isn’t as detailed, but it informs your awareness of your surroundings - when you’re driving, for example.
Things that require MOTION.
And the further ahead you look, the more things slow down.
Ever noticed how slow the land moves past when you’re flying vs when you’re on the runway? Ever been hypnotized by the rows of corn flying past out the side window on your road trip and then looked ahead out the windshield to appreciate a less frantic pace?
When you choose to focus your vision in the right direction, your performance improves. Your field of vision expands, the context of multiple views (stereopsis) informs your depth perception, your motion processing optimizes, your brain selectively focuses on specific visual cues while filtering out irrelevant information, your vestibular system and proprioception are providing the right data…
…all of this empowering you to make better decisions.
In our personal and professional lives, the look ahead needs to be focused on our “why.” Our purpose. Our goals. Our motivations. What we really want. If we can keep our gaze focused there, we’re more likely to get to where we want to go, and less likely to be distracted by the things flashing by in our peripheral.
With focus in the right place, the brain can adapt to high-speed visual input over time. Experienced racers develop the ability to process information rapidly and accurately at elevated speeds, and so can you.
When life is racing past, it helps to look up.
