Self-aware and self-critical aren’t the same. One sees clearly. The other only sees flaws.

Self-awareness takes an accurate reading. Self-criticism has decided the answer in advance and only collects supporting evidence, which is why it feels rigorous while being useless. A clear look at yourself includes the parts that are working, the parts that are not, and a sense of proportion about both. The critical version finds only the second category and calls that honesty.

After the next thing you do badly, list two things that went wrong and two that went right. The second half will feel like cheating. Do it anyway, because a report with only failures in it cannot tell you what to keep.