This is all fine for someone born with good character traits, but what should a man born with bad character traits and wrong opinions, who strays from the sensible path, calls the good bad and the bad good and considers his path correct? He should follow the following advice and he might be saved: he should pour out his heart to Hashem every day three times a day during the three prayers of the day, that Hashem should rectify him and give him the correct way to become completely good in his character traits and behavior and do the correct thing in the eyes of Hashem and people, and he should also constantly learn holy books which rectify people, he should become dusty with the dust of wise people and learn from their ways. He should not leave their ways at all and even if it appears to him that they are calling right left and left right, he should ignore his own knowledge and opinion before those of the others. He should strengthen himself with all of his power and strength, with a strong hand and outstretched arm to go against his will and opinion for such a long time that the custom becomes second nature, at which point Hashem will open his eyes and he will see with his eyes and his heart will understand what is the straight path, and he will repent and be healed. The reward is in direct proportion to the pain. We have a transmission that one who comes to purify himself receives heavenly assistance.
A person must also know that even if he was born with bad character traits, he may not exonerate himself from the heavenly justice by saying that he was born like that and that was all he could achieve and that he was unable to hold himself back and overcome his bad character traits. This is not the path to get out of sin, for a person can do anything he really wants, and all can be achieved through hard work and exertion. And Chazal said “If you try and do not manage, do not believe it!”, and a person was born for hard work. Fortunate is the person whose work is in Torah and who creates pleasure for his Creator.
