I would suggest that everyone follow several of the golden nuggets in this thread so far.
1. Go at your own pace, speed and comfort level regardless of what everyone else is doing.
2. If you are not happy with your progress then take all the time you want or need. If you need to finish it later, there is no shame in delaying your training or certification process. (I recall a member of this site that took that advice to heart and she delayed her OW certification process until SHE was confident that she would do well. BRAVO FOR HER!!!!)
3. If you don't pass the first time, who cares? If you quit then you are probably reticent to try new things and stick with them anyway. If you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and try again then you are winner in my book.
4. I get students for tech training that think they need to do it because it is the next step. There is NEVER a manditory next step. There are are only steps related to the type of diving you want to do. If you will never dive doubles and a drysuit nor care to dive beyond 130 feet for the majority of your dive, then there is no need to take tech training. Don't take the class because everyone else is or because you think its the next step in your training progression or because all the other cool kids are doing it. Do it because you'll have access to that level of diving and you want to dive that that diving profile.
Great thread. I hope that every diver reads this.
As for mastering a skill, I think the 10 years is about right if you have to set limits on it and I think we are all mastering skills everyday if we are actively working on them. That which you practice, measure and pay attention to is that which you will improve.
