153 | Transcending Tunnel Vision

 
 

March 6, 2023

Minute of Transparency: Lost in a Good Book

Today's Topic: Transcending Tunnel Vision

  1. Entering a tunnel

  2. Exiting the tunnel

// CHAPTER 1: ENTERING A TUNNEL

So this topic is one I had added to my list of potentials a long time ago.

Every time I go to start a new episode - I see it in the list and think, "I'm not 100% sure why I added this one..."

So I skip it - and move on to another topic.

But every time - I see it and wonder...

So this weekend I pulled it from the list, dusted it off, and decided to figure it out in real time.

And what I found was something new. I mean - the concept of "tunnel vision" didn't change - but where I went with it even surprised me.

But before we get there - let's define "tunnel vision."

Interestingly enough - there is a medical condition called "tunnel vision."

A real, diagnosable condition.

According to MedicalNewsToday.com:

  • "Tunnel vision, or peripheral vision loss (PVL), is a result of the loss of peripheral sight, or side vision. A person with PVL can only see what is directly in front of them. This can occur due to conditions that affect the eye or other health conditions."

  • This condition can be caused by a variety of different things

  • And it can be temporary - or permanent

But this isn't the "tunnel vision" I'm interested in.

Dictionary.com has three definitions for "tunnel vision:"

The first is what we just learned - the medical definition. But the second and third are the ones I want to focus on:

  • Definition 2: "The tendency to look at things from only one point of view"

    • This would include things like prejudice or narrow-mindedness

  • Definition 3: "A fixation on only one objective or course of action"

That's more like it.

So the "tunnel vision" we're talking about today is when we start to look at things through only one lens. To become hyper-focused on something at the expense of everything else around us.

Kind of like being lost in a good book - right?

So Chapter 1 is called "ENTERING A TUNNEL" for a reason.

I used the word "a" instead of "the." Entering a tunnel vs. entering the tunnel.

Because it's important to understand that there isn't just one tunnel. There are a myriad of tunnels and at any point in time we can find ourselves in one of them.

Not the same tunnel as others around us - the tunnel(s) we choose to drive through.

Now - I'm not going to try and define every possible tunnel a person can get caught in.

But I think I can come up with a list of popular tunnels - tunnels that have thousands if not millions of people driving through them at any given point and time.

So let's start there. Here are a few of the tunnels that we get stuck in:

  • The "Me" Tunnel:

    • This one should be fairly obvious

    • We all know someone who thinks the world revolves around them

    • And - unfortunately - there are times we have thought the same thing

    • Getting caught in this tunnel shifts our entire focus inward

    • It's all about me

    • How do I feel?

    • What can I get?

    • How can people help me get where I want to go?

    • When we get caught in this frame of mind - we stop looking outward - or upward

    • Two things we'll talk a bit more about later

    • But for now - just understand that this is one of the most popular tunnels that exist

  • The "Faith" Tunnel:

    • Now - before I go any further - hear me say this:

      • "There is nothing wrong with faith"

      • "There is nothing wrong with religion"

      • "There is nothing wrong with spirituality"

    • In fact - without these things - who knows where we would be in society

    • But as with everything - even a good thing can become a bad thing

    • Why do you think deconstruction has become so popular these days?

    • Because people caught up in the faith tunnel can lose perspective

    • It can become all about the religion

    • All about the liturgy

    • All about that one unique "brand" of religion

    • At the expense of everything else

    • Mark Driscoll is a good example of this. Here's how he spoke about the people at Mars Hill Church:

      • “There is a pile of dead bodies behind the Mars Hill bus. By God's grace, it'll be a mountain by the time we're done. Either get on the bus or you get run over by the bus, those are the options. But the bus ain't gonna stop.”

    • If that isn't a verbal confession of "tunnel vision" I'm not sure what is...

    • Religion has always been one of the most traveled tunnels

    • From mainstream religions all the way up to cults with high levels of authoritarian control

    • And it can be very difficult to get out of - both literally and cognitively

  • The "Deconstruction" Tunnel:

    • Now - I threw this one in because it's the yin to the yang we just talked about

    • Just as there can be tunnel vision in our religious or spiritual beliefs

    • So too, can there be tunnel vision around deconstructing it

    • On some level - deconstruction can become the next religion we join

    • It's just the next tunnel we choose to live in

    • And if we aren't careful - we start viewing the world through that lens - and only that lens

    • Many people go all the way - throwing the baby out with the bath water

    • Moving to the other end of the spectrum - becoming agnostic or atheist - and making that their religion in some form or fashion

    • Now - I don't want to paint deconstruction in and of itself as a tunnel

    • I see deconstruction as a process - a phase people go through in order to make sense of the things they were brainwashed to believe growing up

    • A healthy process that should move them to a more healthy place in their life

    • But it can also become a tunnel

    • We can get stuck in the process and begin to view it as what defines us:

      • I'm a deconstructionist

      • I'm deconstructing

    • And if we get too far down this tunnel - we can close ourselves off to all sorts of things that would help us grow and mature into the person we could be

  • The "Political" Tunnel:

    • Again - this should be an obvious one

    • Since 2020 - it has played out right in front of us - on a national scale

    • People digging their heels in - creating an "us vs. them" atmosphere

    • Political polarization - that's the buzzword

    • And if you watch the news - or spend any time on social media - it's one of the main topics of conversation

    • Conservatives vs. Liberals

    • You don't even hear the word "Moderates" used - because people are either far right fascists - or left leaning socialists

    • And both are out to destroy the fabric of everything we hold dear in this country

    • At least that's what we're told…

    • Each side has the truth

    • And the opposing side is the epitome of evil

    • But remember - we're in a tunnel...

    • When you dive too far into this world - you enter a tunnel - and your vision becomes impaired

    • Like a laser - your vision goes from wide to narrow - a thin, focused beam of light - only seeing the rigid set of beliefs right in front of you - the ones your party holds to be true

    • And every other train of thought is wrong - deadly wrong - life ending wrong - world ending wrong

    • See how that could impact your life?

    • See how that could influence the way you treat people?

    • See how that could influence the way you experience the world around you? If you experience joy, peace, happiness or contentment on any level?

    • It's a slippery slope for sure

  • The "Environmental" Tunnel:

    • I'm throwing this one in there simply because our world feels like it's on fire

    • Not just religiously and politically

    • But naturally

    • The Earth itself feels like it's going through an identity crisis

    • Our natural world - largely because of the way we're treated it

    • From the environmental disasters like oil spills, train derailments, gas trucks crashing and exploding

    • To the big ones like the nuclear power plants in the Ukraine being bombed by Russia

    • I mean - do we need another Chalk River? Another Chernobyl?

    • And think of all the atomic and nuclear testing we've done in the past? Setting these bombs off in rural areas of out country, and over the ocean - or under water - just to see what they can do?

    • Then you have CERN - and the large hadron collider experiments

    • Who knows what that is doing to the environment?

    • I'm all for science - but there is an envelope - and when we start to push the envelope like this - we're gambling a bit

    • Throwing knowledge up against potential danger we can't even quantify

    • All that to say - the Earth seems to be groaning

    • When you look at the changes in the weather - and the severity of the storms we're seeing

    • The droughts, the fires, the earthquakes, the record breaking winter storms

    • I mean - we've had seasons like this in the past

    • The Earth seems to ebb and flow

    • But it just feels like we're trending toward the severe

    • And less a trend - more a new normal of weather extremes

    • So why did I pull this out as a tunnel?

    • Because there are people stuck in it

    • There are people who are paralyzed with fear because of the things we just talked about

    • Some come by it honestly - because they were on the receiving end of mother nature

    • Others - because they get caught up in it from the outside looking in

    • They develop anxieties and fears that it's just a matter of time before it happens to them

    • It becomes the lens they're looking through day in and day out

    • Yet another tunnel we can find ourselves in these days

  • The "Misinformation" Tunnel:

    • Friends - this could be the biggest and most dangerous tunnel to date

    • Technology is no longer advancing in a straight line

    • It is growing exponentially

    • Not a line that is moving up and to the right

    • But a curved line that is moving to the right - but moving upward a much faster rate

    • Every year new things are released that blow last years stuff out of the water

    • We always talked about AI as future stuff - the stuff Sci-fi movies were made out of

    • Until Google created an AI ChatBot called LaMDA - a digital personality that one developer believed had actually become sentient - or capable of having thoughts and feelings

    • Then AI image creators started popping up - platforms like:

    • Then - more recently ChatGBT launched:

      • This was a game changer in and of itself

      • The ability of the AI chat platform to respond to user prompts and deliver content and information based on it's vast neural network and data resources

      • Opening a door that may never get closed

      • As a writer - this is scary...

      • If a person can tell ChatGBT, "Write me a 2000 word blog post. Make it read at the 12th grade level. Topic: The Denver Broncos 2022 season. Define areas where they succeeded. Define areas where they failed. And draw conclusions about next year's successes and failures."

      • And they get back a full article in 2 minutes...

      • Where does that leave good, hard working sports journalists?

      • It's similar to the digital camera revolution

      • One day - you had to be a photography expert to take pictures, develop film and make money

      • The next - everyone could afford a DSL-R camera and use Photoshop to fix the things they didn't know about photography

    • Okay - back to the tunnel of misinformation...

    • I went down that rabbit hole - because it's the advances in technology that make misinformation so accessible to all of us

    • Whether it's a person putting misinformation out there

    • Or if it's AI curating misinformation and just regurgitating it

    • It's still misinformation...

    • And it will only get harder and harder in the future to determine what is true and what isn't

  • The "Social Media" Tunnel:

    • Now - technically - this one should live under the "Misinformation" Tunnel

    • But I split it out - simply because it's so big in and of itself

    • Social Media has become almost all-encompassing for many of us

    • People live on it all day long

    • Many find it's where they get their news

    • Many allow it to drive conversations with friends throughout the day

    • And many find themselves impacted emotionally by the things they read and see on these platforms

    • For me - I get more and more frustrated every day - and yet like you - I'm like a deer in the headlights

    • I can't look away

    • I keep coming back - expecting that it will get better - only it doesn't

    • It just keeps getting worse

    • Here's my abbreviated history of social media:

      • Starting with Facebook:

        • I may be naive - but I don't think Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook with an understanding of what it would become

        • I think it was fun, lighthearted and meant to serve a purpose for those using it

        • I visual, only platform for looking up and connecting with coeds on his college campus

        • Now - over the years it has obviously changed

        • But I believe it started with good intentions

      • Next we have Twitter:

        • No clue what the intent was originally

        • But when you allow people to post short hot takes - that's probably how it's going to be used

        • Twitter is simply a loudspeaker for people to sound off on topics they are passionate about

        • And call out other people they don't agree with

      • Then there is Instagram:

        • Another platform I believe started with the best of intentions

        • A way to share images, photos, art

        • It was so pure at the beginning - more about sharing interesting images and less about the other stuff

        • Then it was bought out by Facebook - and we know where that took the platform

      • Then came SnapChat:

        • A platform built 100% for inappropriate behavior

        • Send someone a picture that will disappear after they view it

        • When the world realized how shady that was - the company quickly pivoted - and made changes so it seemed less inappropriate

        • It's still around of course

      • But let's end with TikTok:

        • A platform that is built for misinformation

        • Now I'm going to rip on TikTok

        • But just know that it's the platform I'm on the most right now

        • Sad - but true...

        • TikTok is the only platform (that I know if) where the main feature isn't your feed - or the things you want to see

        • Instead - it's the FYP - the For You Page

        • Content that is curated just for you by AI

        • An algorithm based on your choices in content and how much of each piece of content you consume

        • Basically - we choose to ingest content that a computer tells us we will like

        • And - the conspiracy theory is that TikTok we have in the US is vastly different from the version they have in China:

          • That our FYPs are preprogrammed to create division, anger and hate

          • Whereas the FYPs in China are meant to teach, instruct and become more intelligent

        • Just a conspiracy theory...but based on the content I see on my FYP - the US piece sounds legit...

        • Can't speak for the FYPs in China...

    • So why did I refer to social media as a tunnel? Two reasons:

      1. We can get tunnel vision by simply living in that world too much of the time. Research is beginning to show how strongly our mental health is tied to social media engagement

      2. Social Media is quickly becoming a playground for misinformation. Not just people posting inaccurate information - but the very real possibility that specific types of information are being pushed by the algorithms in order to create a desired result in us

  • The "Apocalypse" Tunnel:

    • We'll end with this one - see what I did there?

    • "End" there...

    • Anyway - sorry about that...

    • It feels like there is a growing sense of uneasiness in the world

    • People making statements like:

      • "This world is falling apart."

      • "There is something happening in the world - something ominous."

      • "There is an awakening happening - which suggests a very big change in our existence."

    • All statements that suggest people aren't sure about the state of things

    • The future isn't clear:

      • We can see the world going on for hundreds of years

      • But if it ended 4 years from now - we wouldn't be shocked by that either

    • Because the world is unstable

    • The environment is unstable

    • Society feels a little unstable

    • Our government feels a little unstable

    • So we come by it honestly

    • But at the same time - it's a tunnel we can get stuck in

    • If we spend too much time focused on what's in that tunnel - we can miss out on life itself

    • We choose anxiety and fear over life, love and the things that are right in front of us each day

// CHAPTER 2: EXITING THE TUNNEL

So now that we've talked about common tunnels we can drive into. Let's shift gears and talk about getting out of those tunnels.

In my mind I have the perfect illustration for this - but unfortunately this is a podcast - so you won't be able to see what I'm describing.

But I'm going to tell you anyway.

https://youtu.be/oCPlJPk2nk4?t=120

Here's the long and short of it.

When we moved to California - we knew at some point we would be making a trip to Yosemite National Park.

We spent the first few years getting adjusted, doing the local sightseeing and getting the most out of our Disneyland Annual passes.

But at last the time came - and we made the trek up to Yosemite.

There are a thousand things I would love to tell you about the park - but for this podcast - it's the tunnel that's important. A tunnel that you go through on your way into the valley. One minute you're driving on a windy road through dense forest. The next you're in a long tunnel. And when you exit the tunnel you see the entire valley stretched out before you. All of the major attractions right there to see. El Capitan, Half Dome and Bridalveil Falls. Of course everyone stops to take it in, and snap a picture or two.

The view is majestic - breathtaking - and something you'll never forget for the rest of your life.

And that's the feeling I want to have when it comes to my "tunnel vision."

I want to drive out of the tunnel and experience the life that's waiting for me - right outside my field of view. Hidden only because I took a detour down a dark tunnel - and I'm stuck in traffic waiting to come out the other side.

So how does this happen? How can we get out of the tunnel we're in and get back to living the life we were made to live?

Not easily - but maybe this will help keep things moving:

Step 1: Identify your tunnel (or tunnels):

  • You know what they say, "Knowing is half the battle."

  • In Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) - Step 1 is admitting you have a problem - and to admit there is a problem you have to know what it is...

  • Every time a person talks they say the same thing, "Hi, my name is so and so, and I'm an alcoholic."

  • You admit you have a problem and you can define what that problem is

  • Same goes for tunnel vision:

    • We need to get to the place where we understand we have a problem

    • And we need to be able to define that problem

  • For example, "Hello, my name is so and so and I'm stuck in The “Political” Tunnel:

    • It's all I think about

    • I spend all day surfing the internet about my political beliefs

    • I view everyone who doesn't believe as I do as the enemy

    • I feel angry all the time

    • And I know it isn't healthy

Step 2:  Plan your escape:

  • Now I know - the obvious answer is to drive out of the tunnel - right?

  • But let's say the tunnel you're in is packed with cars during rush hour traffic

  • You're at a standstill and it doesn't look like you're going to be moving anytime soon

  • So it may not be a simple fix

  • If you can't drive out of the tunnel - you might need to become the action hero in your own movie

  • I'm picturing a Hollywood blockbuster where the hero is trapped in their car in a tunnel - and water is flooding the tunnel behind them

  • The hero gets out of the car and runs the rest of the way to the entrance of the tunnel just in time to save themselves from the rushing water behind them

  • In this case - the person had to think outside the box

  • They had to do something that isn't normal in order to remain safe

  • So what does that look like in your tunnel scenario?

  • Pretend you don't have the option to drive normally out of the tunnel

  • So what other options do you have?

  • How can you get out of your tunnel in the fastest and safest way possible?

Step 3: Avoid tunnels in the future:

  • They say making the same mistake a third time is the definition of stupidity

  • Because after the second time - it has become a pattern - making the third time all but a sure thing

  • So if this is true - that means we should be on the lookout for tunnels on the road ahead

  • Instead of finding ourselves in a tunnel

  • We should start to see the tunnels before we get to them

  • And - to stretch the analogy - if we're really good at it - we might be able to reroute far enough in advance so we never have to go through the tunnel

  • Ultimately - this step is best described (in my mind) by Spiral Dynamics - something we've talked about a few times on the podcast:

    • As we move through the colors (or spirals) we eventually come to green - the last of the 1st Tier values

    • A great place to be in and of itself - with characteristics like:

      • egalitarian

      • tolerance

      • caring

      • compassion

      • sharing knowledge

      • harmonious

      • relational

      • etc.

    • But after green comes an even more significant step

    • When we move from Tier 1 consciousness to Tier 2 consciousness. Ultimately this means:

      • Moving from a scarcity to an abundance mindset

      • And moving from subsisting to being

    • Yellow includes characteristics like:

      • The ability to view all levels from above

      • The ability to accept change and instability

      • The ability to move freely between all lower value systems (colors or spirals)

      • Living in freedom without harming others or nature

      • And thinks and acts from an inner-directed core

    • Now I know - the Spiral Dynamics stuff starts to get a bit heavy

    • But in very high level terms:

      • Reaching the yellow spiral is like being able to see tunnels coming

      • You accept that there are people in every tunnel

      • You understand why they are there, and you don't judge them for being there

      • But at the same time you're able to avoid the tunnels along the way

There's a lot more there to unpack - but maybe for another day.

Let's Land the Plane:

This week the questions are pretty simple:

  1.  Are you in a tunnel?

    • If so - name the tunnel and begin working on your evacuation route

  2. What would it look like for you to avoid tunnels in the future?

    • Is there something you could do this week to help you avoid them?

Well friends - that's it for now. 

Hope you've doing well. Thanks again for joining me on the journey.

Have a great week, and s always, keep Transcending Human!


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154 | Transcending Uncertainty

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152 | Transcending Competing Values