We find in Chazal and in halacha that the worse aveiroh is chilul Hashem. While tshuva helps for every other aveiroh, complete atonement for chilul Hashem can only be achieved by death (after doing tshuva and more). This actually fits with we find elsewhere that everything and everyone in this world was created with the purpose to bring kvod shamayim (more on than some other time iyh), so creating a chilul Hashem is the ultimate perversion of one's purpose.
I only wrote this as a preface so you understand that by extension, the greatest mitzvah is making a kiddush Hashem. In fact, according to some rishonim, full atonement for a chilul Hashem can be achieved by 'balancing out' with a kiddush Hashem (in addition to tshuva, of course).
So then how does one make a kiddush Hashem? The Rambam writes that when one refrains from doing an aveiroh, not because of any human consequences but because they know Hashem is watching and they want to please Him, in that moment they make the greatest kiddush Hashem possible. And the greater the temptation the greater the kiddush Hashem is.
When one is faced with a nisoyon where one really wants to overcome the yh"r but finds it so extremely difficult, focusing on the words of the Rambam can be very helpful. Just remember, Hashem, the Creator of every person and their temptations, knows exactly how great the temptation is at that moment, and when one manages to successfully fight off the yh"r Kavyochol has the most tremendous pleasure imaginable.
All the malochim gather and praise Him as His holy Name is sanctified by this mere mortal. Kavyochol sits on His holy throne and boasts to all and sundry, "Look down and see how [this super-mortal] has put Me before the 'other guy' (the yh"r). He/she has sacrificed part of him/herself for Me."
And the malochim reply, "Fortunate is the King who has such loyal servants."
Not since before the destruction of the Beis Hamikdosh (when the bringing of korbonos was still in place) has Hashem derived such pleasure as when a Yid holds back from an aveiroh solely because he/she wants to please Hashem.
It isn't easy. It's very hard. In fact it is as difficult as ripping of a piece of one's own flesh. Nay, even harder - this is a piece of one's soul. Every fibre in the body is screaming "DO IT! DO IT!" yet the Yid somehow manages to summon the extraordinary strength to abstain, and that is a korbon in the purest form.
So then how does one make a kiddush Hashem? The Rambam writes that when one refrains from doing an aveiroh, not because of any human consequences but because they know Hashem is watching and they want to please Him, in that moment they make the greatest kiddush Hashem possible. And the greater the temptation the greater the kiddush Hashem is.
When one is faced with a nisoyon where one really wants to overcome the yh"r but finds it so extremely difficult, focusing on the words of the Rambam can be very helpful. Just remember, Hashem, the Creator of every person and their temptations, knows exactly how great the temptation is at that moment, and when one manages to successfully fight off the yh"r Kavyochol has the most tremendous pleasure imaginable.
All the malochim gather and praise Him as His holy Name is sanctified by this mere mortal. Kavyochol sits on His holy throne and boasts to all and sundry, "Look down and see how [this super-mortal] has put Me before the 'other guy' (the yh"r). He/she has sacrificed part of him/herself for Me."
And the malochim reply, "Fortunate is the King who has such loyal servants."
Not since before the destruction of the Beis Hamikdosh (when the bringing of korbonos was still in place) has Hashem derived such pleasure as when a Yid holds back from an aveiroh solely because he/she wants to please Hashem.
It isn't easy. It's very hard. In fact it is as difficult as ripping of a piece of one's own flesh. Nay, even harder - this is a piece of one's soul. Every fibre in the body is screaming "DO IT! DO IT!" yet the Yid somehow manages to summon the extraordinary strength to abstain, and that is a korbon in the purest form.
Knowing this doesn't mean that we don't fall. "Seven times the righteous falls and rises again." But when one truly does want to overcome the yh"r it helps tremendously to understand how great and magnificent this abstinence is.
Lastly, when one does indeed overcome their yh"r (with even the tiniest thing), either by abstaining from and aveiroh or by making the effort to do a mitzvah, it is well advised to aways be in the habit of thinking beforehand, "I am doing this to bring a kvod shamayim, and to please Hashem."
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