I'm sure we all have potentially better images to use than the one's we eventually use and often make the wrong choices!
Nick
You are so right.
There are a number of people on these forums that regularly post blindingly good photographs during the month, and then place something just averagely good in the competition.
Perhaps we see different things in our own photographs than others?
We may have a personal bias towards a particular photograph of our own due to associations with the day it was taken on, or even how much you "like" a particular species.
I have one photograph that I have always been very proud of, yet others see as just "OK", and I have finally realised that it was because of the efforts I put into taking it, and not the actual result!
Roger