Learning to see the commands as a language is helpful; but, it doesn't really reach its full power until you start to see files in terms of the various groupings that Vim affords you (either the out of box things or custom text objects). If you stick with Vim, you'll start seeing things like whether or not you want a word or a WORD, or around (a) or inside (i) an object. Moreover, start to pick up on when you're hitting the same key multiple times or repeating a command. There's almost always a faster way to do something than repeating a command N times.

I'll be totally honest, it takes time and a real commitment to using Vim as your only editor. But, over time, you'll start to think in this text objects and, combined with the "commands as a language" concept--that's when Vim will really start to show it's power.