Looking back, how good have you become at reading the signals your body sends when you're overdoing it — and do you actually act on them?

A natural way to answer

I've grown a lot more attuned to it. There's a particular tightness in my shoulders that tells me I've bitten off more than I can chew before my mind will admit it. The harder part is heeding the warning rather than powering through out of stubbornness.

Key phrases to use

• soldier on — to keep going despite difficulty, tiredness, or feeling unwell“I tend to soldier on instead of resting.”
• hit and miss — sometimes successful and sometimes not; inconsistent“Whether I actually rest is a bit hit and miss.”
• bitten off more than I can chew — taken on more than you can realistically handle“I'd bitten off more than I could chew that month.”
• powering through — forcing yourself to keep going through tiredness or difficulty“I'm guilty of powering through when I should stop.”
• override — to ignore or overrule a signal, instinct, or instruction“I used to override every signal to rest.”
• know when to call it — to recognise the right moment to stop“I've learned to know when to call it.”
• run myself into the ground — to exhaust yourself completely by working or pushing too hard“I ran myself into the ground before I learned to rest.”