There are certain gears that work in specialized situations - for example, low gear for climbing hills; high gear for zooming along life’s highway.

The main problem is we get stuck in gear - one that may have worked wonderfully before, but it’s not working now.

That’s the time to disengage. For those of you who have mastered standard shift, disengaging is pushing in the clutch. For those skilled only in automatic, it’s shifting to neutral.

Thought of a different way, disengaging could be the thing you do to recalibrate to zero.

The analogy doesn’t matter; the practice of disengaging does.

A certain gear will only perform in certain circumstances. When you notice it’s not getting the job done, shift into neutral. It’s from here that you will find the appropriate gear.

Neutral is where you go to clear the current gear. It’s from this base of neutrality that you will find where to shift next.

Disengaging is not shutting down; it’s, as they say in boxing, going to a neutral corner. It’s here that you are not engaged in the battle and head clearing takes place.

When we are stuck in gear, we tend to try and think our way out. That never works.

What does work is throwing in the clutch and disengaging from the thoughts keeping us stuck in gear.

Oftentimes, when we go consciously looking for a gear, it’s done to improve how we appear. That means we go looking for the gear that’s going to make us look good vs. one that works. That’s a lot of mental gymnastics that keeps us tumbling in the wrong direction.

The proper gear will find you if you disengage. This practice seems counter-intuitive because our upbringing and social conditioning has prepared us to “think things through.”

Disengaging the thinking machine is the first step toward finding the appropriate gear. It takes practice because our natural inclination is to shift all over the place in search of an answer.

Neutral is where we disengage. All the grinding of gears comes to a halt and our thinking engine quiets down. It’s from this place of disengagement that new shifts happen.

The next time you hear, “Get it in gear,” shift into neutral before proceeding. This practice will bring new meaning to the phrase “A clutch situation.”

All the best,

John