Changed to a lower gear or reduced speed, effort, or intensity (past tense).
From 'downshift' plus '-ed' past tense suffix. Reflects how the metaphorical meaning (reducing life's pace) has become as common as the automotive original.
The fact that 'downshift' has both a literal car meaning and a metaphorical lifestyle meaning shows how English recycles technical terms into everyday speech. Digital culture is doing this constantly now!
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