An unfinished result should not be judged like a finished one.

Judging something midway uses a standard it has not agreed to yet. The half-built project, the new skill, the relationship in its awkward stage: all of them look worse than they will be, because incompleteness is not the same as inadequacy. The verdict is premature and it is usually harsh.

When you are evaluating something in progress, including yourself, ask whether it is finished. If it is not, switch the question from is this good to is this developing. Look for movement rather than quality. Save the final judgment for when there is actually something final to judge.