Dear Tony,
You need to understand that this work can be tedious at times. It almost certainly will take longer than you have planned.
You should have an internal sense that you are making progress. It often feels like you are building a wall or a walkway. You go brick by brick. Each brick looks similar and often the process appears similar. But each brick is necessary - if one was not there you would notice it. You should sense that you are moving forward and growing better with each individual step you take, even if it doesn't change things in your life right away.
But it will feel like you are doing the same thing again and again. That is boring but necessary. If you lack these skills, you need to work to acquire them. No one can build skills in a day. The only way to build them is to practice them again and again.
If you feel you are not making progress, stop. If you feel like you are not making progress you probably are not. You may have been aiming too high. You may have the right general idea what you need to do, but left a critical piece out of it. You may need more practice at a lower level step.
Also, from my experience, if you grow agitated and start having flashbacks, that is most likely a sign that you are aiming too high.
One of the most annoying experiences is when you know intellectually what the next step is, but you are not ready to do it. Try to resist the urge to move ahead if you know you are not ready. You will regret it later. Work towards building yourself at your current level while keeping your eye on the prize. That is admittedly easier said than done. But if you move ahead before you are ready you will probably crash.
