Why are you so hard on yourself?

Scorpio perfectionism, according to my husband. Astrology fluff aside... I have no good answer besides what experience has taught me. Too many years of "Nice try, but..." or coming in second, third, fifth, twentieth, never first. At 20-ish, this might not be so insurmountable, but I'm almost 40. I don't have another fifteen years to try to improve anything and expect to get anywhere.

Have at it.