Rebbe Gedalyah Moshe of Zvhil zt’l asked someone why he wasn’t going to listen to a certain mussar drashah.

The man replied, “Even if the speech inspires me to do teshuvah, it won’t last for long. Soon afterward, I will be myself again.”

The Rebbe told him, “If someone’s drowning at sea, and someone swims up to him and says, ‘I can save you for a half hour, but then you will fall into the sea again,’ would he accept the offer? Of course he would. So why shouldn’t you also seek to do teshuvah? Even if it only lasts for a short while, it is also worthwhile.” And there is always the possibility that this time he will maintain the teshuvah.