There are times we all come up short.
In those times, the best path forward is to do both of these things: forgive yourself and do the work.
If we forgive ourselves but don’t do the work, we’ll stagnate: we won’t grow and be content there.
If we don’t forgive ourselves but do the work, we’ll become dispirited: our growth won’t alleviate the self-criticism.
If we don’t forgive ourselves and don’t do the work, we’ll quit: there’s no motivation to continue if we’re self-critical and we aren’t improving.
It’s only when we forgive ourselves and do the work that we can grow sustainably into doing better work.
This is true for every kind of project: musical study, planning a concert, studying for a test, letting down a partner, raising your children. At every level: forgive yourself and do the work.