I went through a very similar process. Not moving on, not hand-waiving, not just executing steps before understanding them - it changed the way I learn math and

I went through a very similar process. Not moving on, not hand-waiving, not just executing steps before understanding them - it changed the way I learn math and learn and think in general for the better. One analogy I've come up with to justify this method is that you should not measure your progress by distance covered when traversing terrain of varying elevation. Some days you will be walking up hill, and others downhill. To lament that you covered two miles today but ten yesterday without regard for the energy required to traverse each day's path is often the type of thinking that makes students give up on their math or technical abilities. Often times when learning something technical, I will spend as much time on one sentence, one line of the proof, as the rest of it. Being honest with my own understanding makes it harder and makes these roadblocks more frequent - but the unquestioning mastery of the topic after the fact is well worth it.