Change Gears

In the action-packed sequel The Family Plan 2, Dan Morgan—the reformed assassin formerly known as Sean McCaffrey—takes his family to London for a surprise Christmas visit with his daughter, Nina. The festive spirit quickly evaporates when Dan’s past catches up to him in the form of his long-lost half-brother, Finn Clarke.

In one high-stakes sequence, the family finds themselves in a desperate escape. Dan’s son, Kyle, is thrust into the driver’s seat of a manual transmission vehicle. As the villains close in, Kyle realizes he’s floorboarding the gas, but the car isn’t gaining ground; it’s just screaming in high RPMs. His mother, Jessica, realizes the problem immediately. She coaches him through the mechanics of the stick shift, shouting for him to change gears. The moment he shifts, the tension releases, the tires grip, and the family rockets to a higher speed.

The Danger of the High RPM

Do you ever find yourself “redlining” in your own life? We often get caught in a maniacal focus on a specific goal or, conversely, we find ourselves stuck in a comfortable but stagnant rut. In both scenarios, we are technically “moving,” but we aren’t advancing.

If you stay in first gear while trying to maintain highway speeds, two things happen:

1. You burn out: The engine (your mind and body) cannot sustain that level of friction forever.
2. You lose effectiveness: You’re working harder than ever, yet you’ve hit a ceiling of momentum.

Finding Your Clutch

Unless you are willing to depress the clutch—to momentarily disengage from the “drive” of your daily grind—you cannot shift to a more effective pace. Shifting gears isn’t about stopping; it’s about adjusting your engagement with the world to achieve a better result with less mechanical strain.

For me, changing gears looks like stepping away from the screen for a walk, getting lost in a movie, or the quiet solitude of reading and creative writing. Lately, I’ve been reminded that while some “refreshers” might seem elaborate or time-consuming in the moment, they are necessary for the long game. The “pause” of the shift is what allows for the “power” of the next gear.

What’s your means of changing gears? Are you willing to step off the gas long enough to find a higher speed?

Verse for Reflection

“He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.”
— Psalm 23:2-3