Jock. I rarely think this is good advice...because there are more people who over-process than underprocess. But the way I learned was by repeating to myself that the only way to find out how far is too far, is to occasionally drive over the cliff (and I've actually done that, but that is another story altogether).
And it's ll down to personal taste, but I think most images need a little boost in post. And sometimes a bit more looks even better. I have learned that hindsight (after a short break from the image) can bring some much needed perspective. My image above looks like a lot of overhashed images on the internets, but if I backed it off a touch, I think it would be just fine (if it fits in with what the original intent was).
Again, everyone likes different stuff. And I expect your taste runs towards the realistic side. But you can still overprocess and keep it "realistic". I would suggest Eliot's recent thread for "heavy-handed" that still looks "natural" (these definitions do not apply to every shot). Check it out here......
Stroll - Mano's Visit to Austin - Summer 2014
It won't be to everyone's taste (and it will even differ from shot to shot for sure), but he juices them pretty hard (evidenced by his omnipresent hashtag of #overprocessed), but I feel like I'm seeing them as he sees them and not as shot and then turned up to 11.
Feel free to tweak those sliders too hard....go with too much contrast....increase the clarity. oversaturate a bit. If you never go too far....you'll never know how far you can go.
And if you think you went too far, step away from the monitor for 10 minutes and come back...odds are you DID go to far. But when you come back....it will be much more clear.
Just my 2 cents. I certainly don't need to teach you anything. But I shot with a Panasonic for a LONG time....and the JPEGS they put out SOOC are much flatter than most. WHen I switched to Oly, it was like the part of Wizard of Oz where it went from b/w to color......LOL.