Yom Kippur: We Can Change

I like your info graphic except that according to the work of Brene Brown, and the Mindful Self Compassion curriculum that I teach, you have the definition of guilt which is really shame, and regret which is more like guilt.

I have been seeing every single bad thing I have done in my lifetime of over 60 yrs and wondering how I can change myself 180 degrees in one day. You make it sound much easier by just picking one thing to work on. I have been wallowing in guilt and angst certain that I have been doomed.

But, if I only have to work on one midda at a time, it sounds much more doable. I have been feeling that G-d will never forgive my past mistakes. You have given me hope that I am not totally lost. Hopefully, Hashem will still forgive me.

Thank you for the insightful infographic. What might you suggest is the root character trait behind smoking cigarettes when it's blatantly known that it's harmful to one's health?
Best Regards.

First a general point that applies to all of us -- non-smokers as well. Intellectual knowledge is not enough to translate into action. It's only once we integrate that knowledge into the fiber of our being that we live with. That's why people who know smoking is dangerous will smoke. And why people who at least intellectually believe in the reality of God will have a crisis of faith when the chips are down. Rav Dessler said the distance between the mind and the heart is greater than the distance between the Earth and the Sun. The challenge is living with the full awareness in our bones what we know to be true. That is a human flaw, not only smokers. Secondly, the smoker can get more specific and examine what is the need smoking fills. For some it's a release from frustration... and the challenge is to change how one handles frustration [or whatever the root trait that's driving him] into a more productive manner. Read the article on aish.com Change Your Habits that discusses this.