Everyone has/had a different path on the forum, some earned merits immediately they started posting, they got off to a good start and never looked back(very good posters)
Some others were not so good when they came into the forum, so it took them quite a while to regularize themselves with what this discussion forum is all about and then they started earning merits and ranked up in the process.

You cannot complain at the moment(you are still new here), there have been numerous posts about merits and the best way to earn them is not to worry or think too much about them.
The more you crave for'em, the more they prove elusive to you.