The only way I can make myself do useful things is to put aside the goal of "being perfect" or "self-improvement" and just think "I want to do this one particular project just to do it." Every time I've done something that has contributed positively to my reputation, resume, or "awesomeness", I've gotten caught up at least part of the time in just wanting to do it -- solving this problem, writing this paper or code, reading about this subject.

There are limits to the usefulness of looking at yourself and asking "am I good enough? What's my score? What's my goal score?" Sure, scoring mechanisms have their uses (e.g. GPA, income, karma, awards and honors, etc.) but when you're actually in the process of doing something, you have to take your mind off your score. If "self-improvement" is demotivating (and it is, for a lot of people, including me) stop thinking about the "self" part, and just think about the specific things you want to do.