A former co-worker of mine sent me an email yesterday after a year of non-communication (which I was happy about, incidentally). In defending the actions that led to the attachment of “former” to his description, he spoke of two important and related things: complacency and rising to your environment. While I have endeavored to keep my skills fresh, I think it is time to change my environment. I’m not sure exactly how I’m going to do that, but I know that it’s important.