At the most primordial level, we work to earn money. The capital that pays our bills, keeps us fed, allows us to support our children, have hobbies and so on. Quite often, we get so wrapped up in earning that cash, that our work day (or night for you vampires out there) becomes a routine. A routine that we become numb to, that we forget is eating away some of the better years of our lives.

So, riddle me this, blog reader: can you predict with a 90% accuracy rate exactly what will happen to you at work today? Tomorrow? This month? If you can, then you’re in the same cubicle as me.

To illustrate this, here was an eye opener for me yesterday. I walked into my favorite Manhattan deli, set to order the same tossed salad I get every Monday. I know exactly what I get every time, as well as the periodic variations I use. However, the young man who had prepared my salads for the past few years was out from behind the counter. He was wearing a shirt and tie, and walking around the deli with a clipboard. He had been promoted. Since we are civil to each other, I congratulated him and he was genuinely appreciative. Hell, I almost felt proud for him.

However, after I left the deli, it reminded me that I’ve never been promoted by my company in the six years I’ve been here. It is not as much a reflection of my performance, as it is that there is no position for me to ascend to. I tolerate my career path for the most part because my options are limited, but reality begged me to ask “How long is too long to stay at a job?”

According to a Washingtonian article, that time is three to five years if you haven’t been promoted. Uh oh, looks like I am overdue. Such reluctance leaves me open to becoming what CareerOne.Com.Au calls a quit stay, where you have ‘mentally quit your job but keep turning up for work anyway.’ Now that’s scary. But of course, things like this wouldn’t get defined if it was not happening.

So as I read more information on related topics, Salary.com listed the top ten reasons to leave your job. Check them out for yourself. If you have five or more as a reason to leave, perhaps it’s time to smack yourself in the face. Pour some salt in your coffee. Take a hard look at where you are and where you want to be— do they line up anytime soon?

Of course, such a look can be depressing to most, present company included. But as hard as it is to swallow, you have to use it as motivation. Unless the folks at the Reincarnation Institute are right, you only get one life, so don’t waste it doing bullshit work in a career path you have no passion for. All of the links above should tell you if it has been too long.

Therefore, the point of this article is if you are in the same cubicle of numbness as me, start taking steps to get to where you want to be. Even if you spend the rest of your life trying but fail anyway, it beats the hell out of sitting around waiting for something to happen. With that, I have to go take a dose of my own medicine. Good luck.