Impediments to doing Teshuvah

One of the impediments of doing Teshuvah is thinking that I can't be what Hashem wants me to be.  There is a certain kind of despair that keeps us from doing Teshuva.  We think that we can not do any better, so why try. We don't think that we can ever be Tzadikim, so we don't really change.

To change this, we have to stay connected to Hashem.  By being connected to Hashem we climb as high as we can, in a realistic way.  We can't do it alone, but we can do it with Hashem.

from the Shiur on Aish Audio: The Teshuvah Process - 1 # HT 937 A

by Heller, Rebbitzen Tziporah

This is also one of the things that attacks our abstinence.  We think that we can't be perfect so why try.  The remedy is to stay connected to Hashem.