Two things -

Regarding staying current, I agree 100%. I have worked with many "dinosaurs" who call themselves technical but are wholly resistant to change and they are nothing but trouble. That's not to say that every new technology should be used just for the sake of using it, but if I see a developer who is still perfectly happy with VB6 or a "database person" happy doing nothing but FoxPro... I run the other direction.

Regarding how people feel about their job, that really depends on the person. There are people who live to work and people who work to live and people inbetween. The people who live to work become defined by what their job is, it is the most dominant factor in their lives and their biggest priority - they have to have something they are passionate about because it IS their life. They wouldn't quit even if they won the lottery (which they probably don't play). People who work to live really don't care - they work because they need a paycheck, and they usually will accept a less-than-satisfying job if it provides them the means to live their other passions, be they family, friends etc. If they won the lottery (which, if they aren't so good at math they probably do), they would quit their job the next day. Then there are the rest of us in the middle - we admit that if we had millions of dollars, we'd probably find something besides our current day job to fill our time - but we do need to feel useful and enjoy what we do for the 8-10 hours a day we are earning our living. So, we strive to find a job we will find fulfilling but that provides us a life-work balance so we can enjoy our family, friends and hobbies.

People in the "work to live" category are probably more likely to not be good at their job than people in the other categories, but even this is not always true - I have known some who are still quite good at what they do and don't just do the minimum - but when they go home, they don't think about work the way I do and the way people in the "live to work" category would. They admit they work just to support their families, not because of some big love for the job, but they still do their job to the best of their ability. Certainly when I'm hiring I'd rather put my trust in the other end of the spectrum, so if a person is in the work-to-live category, they should hide it from me during the interview if they want me to consider them!