We are our own worst critics, natch.

And I think that, when we fail, the points of failure are often so obvious that they provide clear direction. E.g., my botched run of Monster of the Week fundamentally changed my entire PbtA worldview.

That said, successes can also be obvious. E.g., when I hunkered down to learn Marvel Heroic after a few shaky sessions — creating my first serious cheat/notes sheet for an RPG — and it totally paid off, it taught me a lot about prep. There was a clear through-line from study to payoff.

But I do find that to be less common. Most often is the big fuck-up, followed by not doing that dumb thing I did and the resultant success.