Widen Your Vision, Grow Your Business: The Power of Panoramic Focus for Owners

Originally published May 29, 2025

As business owners, we often get trapped in the weeds, narrowly focused on immediate tasks and problems. But what if this intense focus is actually hindering your progress? This article dives into the science behind "panoramic vision," a concept championed by neuroscientist Andrew Huberman, to show you how intentionally widening your focus can unlock new possibilities, reduce stress, and help you build a business that truly flows.

Widen Your Vision, Grow Your Business: The Power of Panoramic Focus for Owners

As a business consultant, I often talk about the importance of focus as a business owner. We are constantly trying new ideas and looking for that new magic pill that will grow our business. We get caught up in the day-to-day tasks, the urgent emails, and the seemingly endless to-do list. In this relentless pursuit of growth, we often narrow our attention, believing that intense focus on the immediate problem is the key to success.

But have you ever stopped to notice where you get your best ideas?

For me, I notice that my brain is most stimulated when I am out on my runs or my walks. It's not when I'm hunched over my computer screen or deeply immersed in a spreadsheet. It's when my body is moving, and my gaze is softer, taking in the surroundings.

The Unexpected Power of Widening Your Focus

There are many reasons why these moments of movement and broader awareness spark creativity. But one significant factor is because I am widening my focus. Instead of concentrating on a single point or task, my attention expands to encompass my surroundings.

Dr. Andrew Huberman, the renowned neuroscientist at Stanford University and creator of the wildly popular “Huberman Lab” podcast, talks frequently about the important effect of expanding our focus to let more light in our brain. He refers to it as panoramic vision, stressing its profound impact on our overall well-being and cognitive function.

The Science Behind Panoramic Vision and Its Importance for Business Owners

What exactly is the science behind this widening vision, and why is it so important for business owners striving to build lifestyle businesses and find flow in their systems?

Most of the day, especially as business owners tethered to technology, we spend in narrow focus – looking intently at our phones or our computer screens. This constant close-up work trains our brains to operate within a limited visual field.

It's crucial to remember that our optic nerve is not just passing visual information. It is directly connected to our brains and our central nervous system. Therefore, what we look at directly affects our thoughts and our emotions, which in turn influence our ability to manage stress and make sound decisions.

When we experience stress, our bodies release stress hormones like cortisol. These hormones physically narrow our attention so that it is all focused on the problem at hand. In certain situations, this can be a great survival skill, allowing us to laser-focus on immediate danger.

However, many business problems require a broader perspective. This narrow focus can block out other possibilities. Think about being engrossed in a difficult task on your computer. Your gaze is fixed, your peripheral vision fades, and your mental landscape can become just as restricted. The stress limits your field of vision, and a narrow focus can lead to stress.

Interestingly, research shows that simply by widening our focus, we will also widen the realm of what we think is possible. When we relax our gaze and take in a broader visual field, it can signal to our nervous system that we are in a safe environment. This shift can reduce the stress response and open our minds to new ideas and solutions. We become more aware of our surroundings, including subtle changes and details that might have been missed when our focus was narrow. This increased awareness can also activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which sends signals to relax our nervous system, counteracting the stress-induced narrowing of focus.

How Panoramic Focus Can Help Business Owners Achieve Flow

Sometimes, as a business owner, we become so fixated on the immediate challenges that we lose sight of the bigger picture – the possibilities that lie beyond the current hurdles. In order to see these possibilities, effectively solve problems, and experience less stress, we need to consciously practice “widening” our focus. A "widened” focus can offer significant benefits for business owners aiming to build sustainable lifestyle businesses and find flow in their operations:

Reduced Stress and Improved Decision-Making:

• Constantly focusing on the minute details of running a business – the daily tasks, the customer service issues, the financial reports – can be overwhelming and lead to chronic stress. This stress can cloud judgment and hinder clear thinking.

• Regularly practicing a wider focus, even for short periods, can help calm the nervous system. By signaling safety to the brain through a broader visual field, we can reduce the activation of the stress response.

• A less stressed state allows business owners to approach challenges with a clearer and more rational mind. This improved cognitive function leads to better strategic thinking and more effective decision-making, ultimately contributing to a sense of flow and control.

Enhanced Peripheral Awareness and Opportunity Detection:

• Just as panoramic vision in our evolutionary past helped detect potential threats and opportunities in the environment, a "widened" business focus can help owners become more aware of broader market trends, shifts in customer behavior, competitor activities, and potential opportunities they might otherwise miss when solely fixated on internal operations.

• By taking a step back and observing the wider landscape of their industry and the world around them, business owners can identify emerging needs, anticipate future challenges, and adapt their strategies proactively. This forward-thinking approach is crucial for long-term sustainability and growth.

Improved Creativity and Innovation:

• A narrow focus can sometimes create mental blinders, limiting creative thinking and the ability to see novel solutions. When our attention is constricted, we tend to rely on familiar patterns and established approaches.

• By broadening their perspective and consciously taking in more information from diverse sources, business owners can draw inspiration from unexpected places and make new connections between seemingly unrelated ideas, fostering innovation within their businesses.

• Looking at the "bigger picture" – the unmet needs of customers, the gaps in the market, the potential for new technologies – can help identify novel approaches to existing problems and unlock new avenues for growth and impact.

Better Team Management and Leadership:

• A leader with a wider focus is more likely to see the different perspectives within their team. They can understand the interconnectedness of various departments and appreciate the unique contributions of each individual.

• This holistic view of the business and its people can lead to better communication, improved collaboration, and a more supportive and understanding work environment. Leaders who see the bigger picture are better equipped to foster a sense of shared purpose and guide their teams towards common goals, creating a more harmonious and productive flow within the organization.

Increased Resilience and Adaptability:

• Businesses inevitably face unexpected challenges, from economic downturns to shifts in consumer preferences. Owners who can shift their focus from immediate crises to the broader context – understanding the underlying forces at play and the potential long-term implications – are better equipped to adapt and navigate uncertainty.

• A panoramic view allows for a more flexible and long-term perspective. Instead of getting bogged down in the immediate problem, owners can see the bigger picture, identify potential pathways forward, and build resilience into their business model. This adaptability is essential for navigating the ever-changing landscape of the business world and maintaining a sense of flow amidst challenges.

Practical Ways for Business Owners to Widen Their Focus and Find Flow

Integrating practices that encourage a wider focus into your daily routine as a business owner can be surprisingly simple and yield significant benefits. Here are some practical ways to consciously "widen" your focus:

• Dr. Huberman’s Panoramic Vision Exercise: Dr. Huberman outlines an exercise you can do to practice manually widening your perspective. Practice Soft Gaze: Consciously relax the muscles around your eyes and try to become aware of your entire field of vision without focusing intently on any single point. This gentle widening of focus can be done anywhere, anytime.

• Expose Yourself to More Natural Light: Spending time in natural light, especially sunlight, helps regulate your circadian rhythm and can also influence your visual processing. Increased light exposure opens the pupils, potentially contributing to a broader visual field and a more alert state.

• Seek Out Spaces with Higher Ceilings: Interestingly, the physical environment can also influence our sense of spaciousness and mental focus. Studies suggest that being in spaces with higher ceilings can promote more expansive thinking and creativity. Try working in different environments occasionally to see if it impacts your perspective.

• Practice Mindfulness and Awareness: Engaging in mindfulness practices, even for a few minutes each day, can increase your overall awareness of your surroundings and your internal state. This heightened awareness naturally broadens your attentional scope, allowing you to notice more details and feel more present in the moment.

• Take Regular Breaks from Screens: The constant close-up focus required by phones and computers can train our eyes and brains into a state of narrow attention. Make a conscious effort to take frequent breaks to simply shift your focus to the middle distance or look out a window.

• Go for Walks in Open Spaces: Spending time outdoors, in parks, or other open environments naturally encourages a broader visual focus. Allow your eyes to wander and take in the vastness of your surroundings.

• Take "Horizon Gazing" Breaks: As mentioned earlier, regularly looking out of a window at a distant point or the horizon for a few minutes can be a powerful way to consciously widen your visual field and signal safety to your nervous system.

• Schedule Strategic Thinking Time: Just as you schedule meetings and tasks, dedicate specific time to step away from the daily operational details and think about the overall direction of your business, the broader industry landscape, and your long-term vision.

• Seek Diverse Perspectives: Engage in conversations with people outside of your immediate business circle – mentors, advisors, individuals from different industries. These interactions can provide fresh insights and broaden your understanding of different approaches and possibilities.

By consciously incorporating these practices that promote a wider, more panoramic focus into your daily and weekly routines, you, as a business owner, can potentially reduce stress, enhance your strategic thinking, foster creativity, improve your leadership, and ultimately improve your chances of building a sustainable lifestyle business where you experience more flow, more joy, and greater success. It’s about seeing beyond the immediate and embracing the expansive possibilities that surround you.