Whatever I do, it still isn't good enough
It's finished, everyone says it's good, and what you're thinking about is the detail you didn't handle well. Praise makes you uncomfortable; you assume they're being polite.
It isn't that you don't try. You may be the one who tries hardest. It's that the line keeps rising — reach it and it goes up again, always a little short.
Over time, doing well stops feeling good; it just means temporarily less anxiety.
What may be going on
A high bar usually has a history. You may have learned early that being good enough was what made you safe, so strictness became protection — criticise yourself first and nobody else can wound you.
That protection has a cost: it turns every completion into the next round of inspection.
Loosening the standard isn't becoming careless. It's telling apart what you genuinely want to do well from what you're only afraid of failing at.
Essences that may fit
You don't need all of them. See which description comes closest to how you are now.
Rock Water
Self-denial, excessive strictness
Strict with yourself, holding yourself to discipline. Its support makes being kinder to yourself stop meaning slackness.
Pine
Self-blame, guilt
If self-blame and guilt sit behind that line — the sense that it's all your fault — this one comes closer.
Crab Apple
Self-dislike, need for cleanliness
If there's also distaste for yourself, discomfort at seeing certain parts of you, look at this one.
One small thing you can do now
Think of one thing you finished today. Anything small will do.
Say it inwardly in full: "I did that." Don't add "but".
If the "but" turns up anyway, that's fine. Noticing it arrive is already seeing.
When you're too full, too tight, and need to loosen
Waiguan SJ-5 · Outer wrist