Musar for Berakhot 64:11
ת"ר ארבעה צריכין חזוק ואלו הן תורה ומעשים טובים תפלה ודרך ארץ
Our Rabbis have taught: Four things require effort, viz. : Torah, good deeds, prayer and worldly occupation.
Mesilat Yesharim
If he leaves himself in the hands of his [natural] heaviness, it is a certainty that he will not succeed. This is what the Tana (Mishnaic sage) stated: "be brazen as a leopard, light as an eagle, swift as a deer, and mighty as a lion to do the will of your Father in Heaven" (Avot 5:20). Likewise, the Sages counted among the things which need strengthening: "Torah and good deeds" (Berachot 32b). This is explicitly stated in scripture: "be strong and very courageous [to observe and do all of the Torah...]" (Yehoshua 1:6). For great strengthening is needed for one who wants to bend his nature to its opposite.
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