Many of the "mainstream" popular GNU/Linux-based computing environments that are available to the average person are designed with the average Microsoft Windows user in mind. That is, they are geared to minimize the need to use the terminal. Of course, you are free to use the terminal if you so desire.
But the folks who put together the many different kinds blends of GNU/Linux work feverishly to make them extremely GUI-centric. This is especially true of the various concoctions offered by Canonical (such as Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Xubuntu, etc.) --- as well as derivatives of the 'buntus, such as Linux Mint. It would be interesting to know specifically what terminal commands are giving you trouble and which elements of the GUI you don't understand.
Even a cursory overview of all the shell commands that are commonly used in GNU/Linux-based computing systems could easily fill a 100-page book (and that is a low estimate). Also, the plethora of GUI-based tools that are offered in the various GNU/Linux blends are too numerous to explain in a Yahoo! Answers question-and-answer session.
For a particular command that you want to use in a terminal, you can easily find help. Let's take the common command for copying a file: cp To find out about using cp, just type: cp --help Then press: Enter You can do the same with any ordinary command. Or, you can look up many commands in the 'man' pages ('man' is short for 'manual').
In a terminal, you can find out about cp by typing: man cp Then press: Enter To exit the 'man' system, just press: Q Q stands for Quit Other commands use the "newer" info system. So you would type: info cp Then press: Enter However, cp does not have an 'info' entry (on my computer), so you're most likely going to get the 'info' page on 'cpio', which (apparently) is the closest terminal command to 'cp'. It's true that GNU/Linux is a hugely complex computing system, and there is a lot to learn.
One of the difficulties that some folks have with learning GNU/Linux is the sheer enormity of the task. So perhaps you may find it easier if you focus on one little thing at a time, rather than considering the daunting task of learning the entire system. Bit by bit, little by little, line by line.
That may be how you can master the terminal with less trouble. However, that may not be true for you. I don't know how you learn best.
Some folks are hands-on learners. Some folks are able to incorporate knowledge strictly by reading. Different folks learn at different paces and under different circumstances.
Don't let yourself get bogged down or discouraged by the difficulty you feel you're having. Look at it as a game, perhaps. Or realize that there are no spoils that go to the victor.
If you're not enjoying it, you won't learn well. My personal learning style is only to learn what I need to know to accomplish a specific task. Perhaps that mindset will apply to you too.
One of the early (and continuing) mantras of GNU (and to a lesser --- or perhaps merely different --- extent, Linux) is "Have a lot of fun!" That is good advice for the new learner.
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