R’ Yaakov Meir Shechter teaches: 

The yetzer hara tries to convince a person that lowly temptations reflect who he truly is — leading him to despair and spiritual downfall.

But a person should tell himself: “Where does it say in the Torah that it’s forbidden to have a yetzer hara? 

The prohibition is to listen to it! 

Having a yetzer hara is not a sin — on the contrary, by overcoming it, a person can reach the highest levels.”

~ R’ Elimelech Biderman