Aaron, the best thing you can do is try to shoot just a little bit better every time to go out to shoot. That has always been my goal, even now. Then when you look back at a year, 2 years, 3 years ago and more, you see a difference.
It's like kids, you see them every day, so it's hard to notice how much they have grown until you look at picture from the past with them. Your photography should be like that.
Grow it a little at a time and suddenly you will look back and realize how much you have improved. Don't look at your throw away shots as "crap" or junk. Even poor results should be a learning experience. I look at my "bad" shots as a great way to learn. And yes, I do have bad shots too.