How long have you been riding? I say stick with it and eventually you'll get used to it if you haven't been riding long

I originally started at 52/16 on an old '80s Schwinn conversion that still had a Biopace chainring on it . Then I built my Pake up with a 46/16 ratio and it was alright but I felt my form and my spin needed some work so today I finally got my 18T cog in the mail and I'm in LOVE. 46/18, in my opinion, is the way to go. It's not too intense on the climbs and you can still work on your spin and form.

So just keep to it and eventually it'll become second nature. There's only one way to get stronger - keep pushing!... safely of course... don't hurt yourself.