Over the 30+ years of my career, I've always enjoyed teaching and talking to fellow photographers; my latest teaching gig is with the NYC Digital Photo Workshops (www.NYCDPW.com) where I lead a wide variety of classes. One thought I always leave students with is to, "keep asking questions". When we, as creative people, respond to something, it's not always complete in its best form at first glance. I recommend pushing yourself to try different things with the same subject, keep asking the question "what else?" What else can I try? Maybe a different lens, change my angle, use different settings, different light. Never take just one shot. Think about what you're shooting, why you're shooting it and how you can make it better. Just asking "What Else?" will improve your results.
A field of weeds caught my eye as I was driving down a country road in Virginia. I liked the back lighting and tried all sorts of things, pushing myself until I got the shot I could see in my mind. There were some good photos, but not until I laid on the ground with a 300mm lens and isolated the weeds against the shadows did I get my favorite shot.