In professional football, strong tackles are common, injuries are common.

The stakes of winning or losing are very high and the players play accordingly, by giving it their all.

In amateur football that you and I play, however, this isn't quite the case. 

We go easy on tackles, we are less committed to winning the ball in some situations. We'd rather let the opponent run and score than risk an injury to ourselves.

That doesn't mean we just go through the motions. 

We still play a good game, and we give it as much as the stakes merit. 

After all, here, having fun, having a good workout and not getting injured are more important than winning the game.

At the workplace, we tend to think in a binary mode. 

Either we are all in and prioritising work ahead of everything else, leading to working long hours, or we are quiet quitting and just going through the motions, doing just enough to get by and not be noticed in a negative way.

There is, however, a gradient in the middle. 

We just need to be clear about what our job means to us and do our best within that frame. If it means doing our best work, but still ensuring we have time for everything else that is important in our lives, then that is what we do.

Companies tend to think in binary too. 

The ones that don't are the ones with a great work culture.