I didn't want to delete my manuscript.
More than that — after writing my first book, I clung to every single word like a tick. Naturally, a year later, and after writing another book, I looked at the first one with different eyes. The eyes of a real editor: picky and impartial. Editing it yet again, I deleted parts of the text without a second thought. But that was a conscious choice. Over that year I'd gained experience — as a writer, and as an editor.
Don't ignore experience. Don't try to find a cheat code — there isn't one. Between the start of the road and its end, there's the road itself. That's where we gain experience. And that will be your cheat code in the future. But every time you start something new, you have to earn your own bruises. That's how it works for me. Maybe it's different for someone else.
But actually deleting your own manuscript... there's always time for that later. Let it sit. Maybe you'll delete part of the text afterward. Or maybe you'll write something better, based on what came before. But without it, that better text wouldn't exist either.
Time puts everything in its place. Even manuscripts. If you're in a delete-it-all state of mind right now — don't. Close the file. Come back later. The book is probably better than it seems.