Some people will not relate to the concept of the term 'down shift' first hand. Maybe because they never experienced driving a manual transmission in a vehicle, drove a tractor, or a mini-bike. I have. I began learning to shift a vehicle when I was in the eighth grade although I had ridden mini-bikes and drove tractors by age 11. I was seeing a young man-we were going steady and I wore his 'ID' bracelet- who drove a Volkswagen Beetle. A 'punch buggy' as my children refer to them. And, some of the more seasoned readers will remember a movie called The Love Bug from 1977 featuring a cute version of the car. The Volkswagen I learned to shift on was a 4 speed; the higher the gear-the faster you could go and vice versus. You start out in first gear. I have had several manually driven vehicles and my favorite was a brand new 1993 Mazda RX-7; a 5 speed, turbo with rotary engine. It was blue with a sun roof. I named him Michael. Loved that car!
I learned the importance of downshifting as opposed to using the brakes to slow down or when I approached a wet or snowy surface to avoid sliding or a possible accident. It also saved on gas-the car got about 18 miles per gallon in the city which, is where I drove it most. Downshifting gave me the ability to avoid potential errors in life too. Let me explain. The day can quickly get out of control. A meeting detains you longer than you originally planned. The multiple appointments you scheduled for the remainder of the day are now in jeopardy. They are all important. But now, you realize you have to decide how to reschedule. Your mind flips inside out as you think about each appointment and the person you know or want to get to know. Like frames of a film, the visions of each appointment quickly pass through your brain and you find yourself in a bit of a panic. Maybe you become angry with the person in control of the meeting and curse them. Getting angry doesn't help. You cannot think clearly,
AHHH! It is time to down shift. You need to be able to re-review your appointments with discretion. Slow down...down shift. To avoid making an already uncomfortable situation worse, look at each appointment and put them in some sort of order. This won't take long. Perhaps you can number them by importance or by physical distance and map them out in your mind or on a piece of paper. Suggestion: if you reschedule just the next appointment, you can remain on schedule for the remaining appointments. Perhaps making the next appointment the last one of the day-down shift.
Put your shift in the proper perspective-this is not brain surgery. No one will die as a result of a schedule change. Remain focused once you have completed the change. Do not go back and hurl violent thoughts toward yourself or any other person. It's a waste of energy. You only have so much fuel in your tank to get you through the day and you want to make sure your day ends safely and without any further incident. Keep your foot on the gas and go with confidence!
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