The majority of time I've put into the game has been Soul Farming so I could raise my Stats. As Stats get higher my (overall) level gets higher which then makes any stat I want to raise cost more souls.
After getting Cursed by a Basilisk in The Great Hollow (hoping to farm for Twinkling Titanite from Man Eater Shells at Ash Lake) I finally had my Sad Affleck Moment. I thought Curse & Transient Curse were the same; They aren't. I kept getting myself killed by Ghosts while trying to find Ingward in New Londo.
I have ultimately erased my Thief, Jenny out of pure boredom. I don't find Dark Souls "hard" but I just don't have the patience to level up anymore. Also I can't name my next Dark Souls character "A Piñata" because spaces & accents aren't available.