Do You Know When to Stop?

Ep13.

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[00:00:00.000] - Oliver (Host)

Have you ever found something you loved and then done it so much, you almost stopped enjoying it? I have. In fact, I do it all the time. That's what this episode is about. But let's start with something small, innocent even. A few months ago, I started watching The Perfect Couple on Netflix. Just one episode. It was a weekday evening. I was tired. I had things like work to do the next morning. I thought, I'll just watch one. And you know, of course, where this is going. One became two, two became three. By the time I stopped, it was 2: 00 AM. And I'd watched the entire thing. No breaks, no good snacks, just a slow descent into the black hole of play next episode. Now, was it such a terrible thing? No. But did I I feel great afterwards? Not really. I was tired. I hadn't planned to do that. It wasn't the first time. It's not a one-off mistake, it's a pattern. That's what I want to talk about today: doing too much of things that we love, of things that feel good, of things that might even be healthy in moderation.

[00:01:25.050] - Oliver (Host)

Welcome back to English and Beyond, the podcast for Intermediate English English learners who want to learn the language through real stories and honest reflections. My name is Oliver. As always, you'll find a transcript and free vocabulary flashcards at www.morethanalanguage.com. So you can listen, learn, and grow your English at your own pace. So let's get back to the story.

[00:01:55.820] - Oliver (Host)

I've always had this tendency, this habit, and maybe you have, too, that when I enjoy something, I want to do it again, and again, and again, and again, until I don't really enjoy it anymore, until it stops feeling special. Take food, for example. I eat way too quickly. I always have. It's almost like I want to get all the food inside me before my brain realises that I'm full. Not because I'm afraid someone will steal my food. It's just a habit, a rhythm. Sometimes it becomes so automatic that I barely actually taste the food. I certainly don't enjoy it as much as I should. And if I find something I really like, well, I can go too far. When I was younger, maybe 15 or 16, we were allowed out of school to go and buy our food on the high street, and there was a Domino's Pizza lunch deal. You could get a mini lunchtime pizza for just a few pounds.

[00:03:03.780] - Oliver (Host)

I started getting one every Wednesday. Then two. Then I moved on to a medium-sized, and eventually, I was eating a large Domino's Pizza alone for lunch before sports on a Wednesday. Not because I needed it, certainly not. I mean, a large Domino's pizza is about 2,500 calories, so I certainly didn't need to eat that much for lunch. I didn't need it, but I ate it because I liked it. And more just felt better until, of course, it didn't.

[00:03:38.260] - Oliver (Host)

The thing is, this doesn't just happen with food or Netflix. It happens with things people often call positive. Exercise, for example. There was a time in my life when I started going to the gym regularly, and I loved it. The structure, the endorphins, the results. But instead of going three or four times a week, I started going basically every day. I pushed myself harder and harder. The strange part was I wasn't getting that much stronger. I was just getting really tired. I was getting stiff, less excited to go. I now understand that when it comes to the gym, rest is part of the process. Muscles don't grow when you work out. They grow when you rest.

[00:04:28.590] - Oliver (Host)

But when you enjoy something and you feel like you're improving, it's tempting to push more, to think, Well, if I do five hours, I'll improve faster than if I do two. But that's not how growth works. Not for your body, not for your mind. The same thing has, in fact, happened to me with languages. I love learning languages. It's one of the joys of my life. But I've had times where I have studied obsessively, hours a day, watching YouTube videos, reading grammar explanations, writing endless vocabulary lists. And guess what? I didn't really learn more overall. I just burned out. I stopped enjoying it. My progress plateaued. You don't learn faster just because you do more. In fact, doing too much can actually slow you down because you stop paying attention, you stop sleeping properly, you start associating something joyful with pressure and stress. This is what I mean by how much is too much. It's not always obvious in the moment, but we often recognise it when we stop enjoying the thing we used to love. Have you ever overdone something healthy or good, like exercise, studying, or a hobby? What made you realise you needed to slow down?

[00:05:58.390] - Oliver (Host)

Let's take a moment to look at expressions that have come up in this episode, or could be useful phrases for talking about excess and self-control. To binge. That's to do something excessively in a short time, e.g, to binge watch a television show. To overdo it, that's to go beyond what is reasonable or healthy. To get carried away, to lose control because you're enjoying something too much. To cut back on something, that is, to reduce how much of it you do or consume. To burn out, to become mentally or physically exhausted due to overwork. In moderation, doing something, but not too much, a healthy balance. To push yourself too hard, to expect too much of yourself. And to lose the joy, to stop enjoying something because it becomes stressful or repetitive. You can practise all of these terms using the free flashcards at morethanalanguage.com.

[00:07:04.900] - Oliver (Host)

Let's talk about other cultures for a moment. In some cultures, doing too much is admired. If you say, I haven't had a break in weeks, people might respond with admiration, like you're working hard, like that's a good thing. In other cultures, there's more of a balance, a recognition that life isn't just about output, what you achieve, but about joy, about rest, about reflection.

[00:07:33.350] - Oliver (Host)

And of course, no one gets it perfect. But wherever you're from, you probably have your own stories about doing too much or being told you weren't doing enough. In your culture, what do people say about doing too much? Do people admire being busy or do they value rest and balance more? Every culture is different. So what's the answer? How do we know when we're doing something too much?

[00:08:00.130] - Oliver (Host)

Sometimes it's just about listening to our bodies, to our minds, to that tiny little voice inside that says, This isn't fun anymore. Sometimes it's about noticing when joy turns into habit or when restlessness makes us reach for another episode, another slice, another goal. Sometimes it's about accepting that even the best things in life need space, that more isn't always better, that enough really is enough. If you have your own version of when you've realised that enough has to be enough, please do share it with me, I'd love to hear it. Thank you so much for listening to English and Beyond. I hope today's episode made you feel seen and gave you some useful English to describe things that maybe you hadn't had the words for before.

[00:08:50.860] - Oliver (Host)

As I said before, you'll find the full transcript, vocabulary flashcards, and more free resources at www.morethanalanguage.com. Please follow, rate, share, or send to a friend. It helps the podcast grow, and it means a lot to me. Until next time, take care, and maybe take a break. Bye-bye.