Some jobs are nightmares, or what Peter F. Drucker referred to as "widow makers.”

They'll vex you or bury you in record time, but for a host of reasons, they're hard to simply leave.

A mortgage might keep you plugging away, or school expenses for the kids, or just a desire to feed yourself next week. Plus, most of us are reluctant to give up at anything, having been reared with the ethic that says, "Quitters never win, and winners never quit!”

How can you know if the best path to take leads you out the door, as soon as possible?

Here are some broad guidelines:

(1) Do you dread walking in that door every day?

(2) Do you feel your tether is fraying with you co-workers, or with one in particular?

(3) Is it impossible to imagine being there for longer than the shortest possible time?

(4) Do you waste a lot of precious personal or family time complaining about it?

(5) Does it seem little setbacks, petty annoyances, and minor frustrations take an inordinate toll on you?

If you answered yes to most or all of these, you may be a "misfit” in that job, literally.

As an experiment, see if you can wangle some time off, because Aunt Minnie is visiting from Pluto, or because of a feigned flu.

Stay at home, or do minor errands, and monitor your energy level.

Suddenly, are you exuberant, revved up like a high performance engine, or are you feeling guilty and missing the place, at least a little?

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone®, You Can Sell Anything By Telephone! and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, "The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable,” published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.