Your fingertips are supposed to hurt the first few weeks. That’s not failure. That’s tuition.

Discomfort at the start of a skill is structural, not a verdict. Sore fingertips mean the body is adapting to something it has never been asked to do, and the soreness stops when the adaptation finishes, usually inside a few weeks. Reading that pain as proof you are not built for this is the commonest way people quit. It is a cost, not a message.

Expect the first weeks to be uncomfortable and plan short sessions rather than heroic ones. Stop if something hurts sharply, carry on if it is only raw. Pay the fee and keep going.