When I was a child, my parents enrolled me in a rec floor hockey league. I played defense for a couple of years, until a snow day happened and the team needed me to play offense. I shifted my focus away from clearing the ball away from my own net, and instead on putting pressure on the opponent’s net and goalie. That night, I scored two goals and won my first player of the game pin.

Saving money, living gently and slowly, and minimizing risk feels like playing defense. It’s a strategy I’m familiar with not just because of floor hockey, but because of how my parents raised me and the culture that they grew up in.

Getting in motion, creativity, and shipping work feels like playing offense. This was a new strategy to me. The way I approached it was to worry less about getting scored on, and focus on achieving a single goal. Failure was acceptable; in fact, if you weren’t failing every so often, you weren’t making enough attempts.

It’s useful to know when to play defense, when to play offense, and which you’re better suited for.