Do just enough day to day. Show heroic effort here and there. Don't get too attached to your project, service, code etc. Always understand the undercurrents so that you can keep abreast of things.
Yes. To add, always try to escape, have a side project, dabble in opensource, wake up early and use your best brain capacity for that then go to work. I know it's hard but if you're just what you do at work then future employment prospects are lower than otherwise.
Exactly, every company and org has a meta that you need to understand. If you understand the meta and you can/want to play the game, then play else start searching.
This is a great way to articulate it. People operate in extremes, caring too much or little