50 Tunnel Vision Quotes on Having Singular Focus

If you’ve ever focused all your energy on one task, you can relate to these tunnel vision quotes.

Tunnel vision is focusing all your energy and attention on one goal, person, task, or item at a time.

Tunnel vision can be something you consciously do to concentrate on achieving a goal or accomplishing a task, or it can be something your body naturally does.

In the case of a violent fight, most people will experience tunnel vision, where the mind shuts off outside distractions and narrows the width of your vision so that you totally concentrate on your opponent.

An important skill is knowing that while tunnel vision can help direct your focus, you must be aware of the people and situations around you and learn to pull back and enjoy life.

It is unhealthy to keep tunnel vision for extended periods as you can miss important things or ignore people that are important to you.

Take a look at these Tunnel Vision Quotes to learn more about focusing your energy on one thing.

Best Tunnel Vision Quotes

Popular words about tunnel vision—both the good and the bad.

1. “Tunnel vision can kill creativity.” — Ami Vitale

2. “I got that tunnel vision for you. I only see you.” — Justin Timberlake

3. “I guess when you’re young, you have tunnel vision.” — Lemmy Kilmister

4. “I have tunnel vision. I go out and try to get better each and every day.” — Matt Cassel

5. “So having tunnel vision actually helps you stay where you are supposed to stay.” — David Katz

6. “Great theories are expansive; failures mire us in dogmatism and tunnel vision.” — Stephen Jay Gould

7. “The main thing is to win. You just try to keep your tunnel vision on to get the team the win.” — Jennie Finch

8. “In times of severe distress, we tend to get tunnel vision and think this feeling will last forever. It will not.” — Jewel

9. “We often engage the defense mechanism of tunnel vision just to keep ourselves focused on our daily lives. This makes us terribly jaded in our perception of what is really around us.” — Vera Nazarian

10. “It’s that one thing that you’re passionate about that you end up developing tunnel vision for, and everything else tends to fall by the wayside. Passion is appealing and universal.” — Johnny Galecki

Dangers of Tunnel Vision Quotes

These quotes show why you shouldn’t let tunnel vision take control.

11. “Stress makes us prone to tunnel vision, less likely to take in the information we need.” — Noreen Hertz

12. “We move through the world with a kind of tunnel vision that prevents us from enjoying what is in front of us.” — Tara Brach

13. “Oftentimes we get tunnel vision and lose sight of the big picture and what we’re really trying to accomplish.” — Robert Cheeke

14. “Panic causes tunnel vision. Calm acceptance of danger allows us to more easily assess the situation and see the options.” — Simon Sinek

15. “I’ve learned that if I only put my mind to one thing, I can get tunnel vision. Then I may not be as open to other opportunities because I’m so focused on one thing.” — Gigi Hadid

16. “Average quarterbacks have tunnel vision; they see what’s in front of them. The better you get, the more that tunnel expands, the more guys on the field you see.” — Kurt Warner

17. “The problem with unfulfilled dreams is that they give us tunnel vision. We focus on ourselves, and that can be a depressing and discouraging place to look.” — Donna VanLiere

18. “We often engage the defense mechanism of tunnel vision just to keep ourselves focused on our daily lives. This makes us terribly jaded in our perception of what is really around us.” — Vera Nazarian

19. “Research has shown that time pressure leads to tunnel vision and that people think more creatively when they are calm, unhurried, and free from stress and distractions.” — Carl Honore

20. “Anxiety leads to a narrowing of the field of attention, the so-called tunnel vision, and when people are anxious, they are unable to attend to the total situation as is necessary to enable them to act rationally…” — James A.C. Brown

Making Tunnel Vision Work for You

As shown in these quotes, tunnel vision isn’t bad if you know how to put it to work in your life.

21. “When you’re a manager, you always have tunnel vision at certain times.” — Paul Lambert

22. “A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence.” — Jim Watkins

23. “Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.” — Earl Nightingale

24. “Pressure isn’t a bad word; it’s a great word. It gives you tunnel vision and lets you focus on the task at hand.” — Robert Esche

25. “If there’s a goal, you can’t stop me; I’ll put my head down. I’ll have tunnel vision, and I’ll go until I get it.” — Dennis De Young

26. “When you have your passion, you never even think about other things. It’s tunnel vision; you go until you get it.” — Nicola Peltz

27. “My tunnel vision work ethic is very hard to come by, I believe. I have had an unwavering faith in myself and my career for as long as I can remember.” — Tinashe

28. “Maintaining concentration depends on what I call tunnel vision; nothing else in the world exists but the catcher’s target, the hitter, and my perfect delivery.” — Nolan Ryan

29. “To be a tennis champion, you have to be inflexible. You have to be stubborn. You have to be arrogant. You have to be selfish and self-absorbed. Kind of tunnel vision almost.” — Chris Evert

30. “You have to have a real single-minded kind of tunnel vision if you want to get anything significant accomplished. Especially if the desire is not to be a businessman, but to be a creative person.” — Steve Jobs

You might also enjoy these Stubborn Quotes!

Inspirational Tunnel Vision Quotes

These quotes are for you if you’re ready to go after your dreams.

31. “Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.” — Suzy Kassem

32. “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” — Tim Notke

33. “It doesn’t matter how slow you go as long as you do not stop.” — Confucius

34. “I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become.” — Carl Jung

35. “If it’s important to you, you will find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse.” — Ryan Blair

36. “The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.” — Walter Bagehot

37. “If you want something you have never had, you must be willing to do something you have n8ver done.” — Thomas Jefferson

38. “Self-confidence will eliminate the need for approval, and your tunnel vision will soon diminish. It is very bright outside, and it’s waiting for you.” — Michael Sotelo

39. “Reading can break us out of the tunnel vision of the narrow specialty and lead us into many intriguing and important avenues of thought.” — Gene Edward Veith Jr.

40. “An entire sea of water can’t sink a ship unless it gets inside the ship. Similarly, the negativity of the world can’t put you down unless you allow it to get inside you.” — Goi Nasu

More Tunnel Vision Quotes

Keep going with these tunnel-vision quotes.

41. “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.” — Bruce Lee

42. “People who get trapped in the tunnel vision of making money think that is all there is to life.” — Felix Dennis

43. “I just kind of do my thing with sort of tunnel vision for the story and my role and how it fits together.” — Lin Shaye

44. “Think about only one thing, and you’re in a tunnel. Think about everything, and you’re on an open stretch of road.” — Anthony T. Hincks

45. “There is always a light at the end of the tunnel, but it is not about what you find at the end; it’s what you find on the path there.” — Anastasia Wild

46. “Drivers don’t always see the lights. You can’t get tunnel vision; you’ve got to look everywhere, even when your adrenaline is going.” — Sixto Rodriguez

47. “Extreme visual clarity, tunnel vision, diminished sound, and the sense that time is slowing down. This is how the human body reacts to extreme stress.” — Malcolm Gladwell

48. “The problem with unfulfilled dreams is that they give us tunnel vision. We focus on ourselves, and that can be a depressing and discouraging place to look.” — Donna VanLiere

49. “We often engage the defense mechanism of tunnel vision just to keep ourselves focused on our daily lives. This makes us terribly jaded in our perception of what is really around us.” — Vera Nazarian

50. “Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, and persistence. It’s about having a ‘tunnel vision’ focus on your goals and not wavering from them, even in the face of adversity.” — John Wooden

Signs of Too Much Tunnel Vision

Small doses of tunnel vision can help you accomplish goals faster and ensure you hit deadlines, but staying tunnel-visioned for too long can be a detriment.

Some signs you are staying in your tunnel vision for too long are:

• When others are talking to you, you don’t pay attention and instead focus on your task
• You hurt those close to you by not paying attention to them
• Life seems to be passing you by without you enjoying it,
• You are burned out

Please share these Tunnel Vision Quotes with any of your family or friends that struggle with too much tunnel vision and post any comments about tunnel vision in the comment section below.