I do try to see weaknesses in my skills, I see great value in being self critical and improving. This has to be self motivated.
I compare my efforts to others, I find it helpful to critique the work of others, that way I see what they do that I don’t like to ensure I don’t do it myself.
I have a few friends that would be honest about my work, and have always welcomed the feedback, I don’t always agree with feedback, sometimes it can feel they have misunderstood what I was trying to do and I haven’t quite managed to carry out the task as per my intentions. This in itself can motivate a change, this is a positive action.
Sometimes friends/ family will offer praise, this sometimes can feel insincere, people with an emotional connection wont always be comfortable telling you their real opinion and what they think, so these criticism can often be easily dismissed even if they was sincere.
A fellow creatives opinion means something different, they have a different understanding of the process and view it from a different angle.
I believe all criticism is useful, providing you do something with it, and that will always be self motivated. They say the hardest person to please should be yourself, I think this is true but if I had to re write that message It would be,
If your efforts fall short be content and understand them, they was the best you could do, but know that next time you can do better having understood why you fell short. Thats not as catchy though.