Originally Posted by: cbpage

the lack of a feedback loop to point out what I could be doing to make my playing easier and better.

IME you'll nuance that yourself in the doing. That feeling when realisation hits is a light bulb moment. A real high, but IME it comes after practising something for a while when you either progress it to a new discernible level, or in trying to. i.e. finding that faster change, more efficient fingering, cleaner notes in the song or exercise learning process.

Record your playing with a video camera, record into a HAI or a looper. They're all pretty honest 'critics'.