Four roads

You might be stuck because you pick the wrong fork on a looping road. You keep getting better at the route you cover, but it doesn't go anywhere, you just keep doing it over and over. Nine years of experience is very different from one year of experience, nine times.

You might be impatient or unable to stick to your decision to take this particular road, and thus you're always starting on a new road. Since the new road is always strange to you, you rarely get any better at getting where you're going.

You might be on the wrong road. Sure, you get better at navigating your way, you can walk faster, you feel more comfortable--but this road is never going to lead much of anywhere.

And, if you're lucky, you might be on the right road, and getting better as you go.