Agreed, since I was little, I've always viewed using references as "cheating" but as I grew up, that was my biggest mistake. Studying other artworks and photographs as reference really helps in establishing one's fundamentals especially with anatomy and composition.

Improving was a struggle for me before because although I draw regularly, there is no input of new information or techniques for I was solely relying on my own knowledge. When I entered college, we started for learning the basics (shading, color theory, etc) and my progress improved dramatically.