We’ll need to ask ourselves a few questions. The first is, “What exactly are we doing wrong?”
The Rambam tells us that one of the integral parts of real teshuvah is commitment to not repeat the aveirah. How can we make an honest commitment to leave the aveirah behind if we know that we’ve repeated the same actions for years on end? This thought process is very common, and can leave people feeling hopeless and guilty. It can even stop people from trying to change anything. After all, what’s the point? Experience has shown us that change isn’t something we can do.
Although that’s a decidedly pessimistic way of thinking, the core concern isn’t wrong. If commitment is part of the process, there needs to be a plan in place to buttress it, so we can avoid repeating what we’ve done. We have to believe in the possibility that the a plan will work. Even if it doesn’t, we have to come up with plan on some level for our teshuvah to be considered a serious attempt.
How do we create and follow through on a realistic plan? We need to understand what’s behind such a commitment.
We’ll need to ask ourselves a few questions. The first is, “What exactly are we doing wrong?”
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