We find it hard to leave sins we know are wrong, one of the reasons is that we don't Feed our heart/mind the right source that'll compel us to desist from leaving them.
When the heart is sick with desire for evil, the medicine is exposing it to fear and intimidation, as well as revealing to it the ugliness of the sin. When it understands, it leaves such evil and desires what's better for it.
This is one of the benefits of seeking knowledge, they are many books to help, 1 I'll recommend is 'disturbers of the heart' by Ibn Jawzi, should be an easy find on google, rather than talk about the book, I highlight a few points gotten from it. And here's more explanations:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi0jb4wNV9Q
of course nothing beats reading the book.
Every breath we take is taking us closer to
death. The time we spend in this world is
short, the time we are held in our graves is
long, and the punishment for following
our lowly desires is calamitous.
Allah made warnings to precede punishment.
Majority of sinner rely on Mercy, Forgiveness & generosity overlooking His severe punishment. Falsely assumed the Mercy like tenderness, as they likened His Mercy to that of man, His creation.
As for he who seeks forgiveness while still insisting on committing sins, then indeed, he is like a stubborn person ignoring all the warnings.
Ma'rüf al-Karkhi said, 'Hoping to receive the Mercy of the One who you insist on being disobedient to, is a kind of betrayal and foolishness'
Some of the wise have said: 'Allah ordained to cut the most
honorable part of your body [i.e. hand] in this worldly life be-
cause of theft equivalent of five carats, therefore a person should
never feel safe from His Punishment in the Hereafter.'
Further to the point, when knowing that the intercession of Ibrahim, the friend, for his father will be unaccepted and the request of the Messenger of Allah that Alläh forgives his mother is also unaccepted should make the regular person always in a constant state of worry and fear.
It is better for you to accompany those who incite you with fearfulness [of Alläh and His Punishment] until you enjoy safety [I.e. in the Hereafter]
than accompanylng those who assure you with safety but afterward [i.e. in the hereafter] what you fear [Punishment] would befall you.
Some notable mentions:
Those who enjoined good and forbade evil but practices contrary to them will be punished severely.
3 things that accompany one to his grave: His family, property and deeds, but only his deeds remain with him.
A frequent dua of the Prophet: "0 over-turner of hearts, make my heart firm on your religion"
The backbiters will be punished by scratching their faces and chests with nails of copper.
The Angel Mika'il(keeper of hellfire) never laughed since hellfire was created.
Of those who will go to hellfire, the most affluent person will be dipped in hell and as a result swear that he never enjoined anything in this dunya.
The Messenger of Allah said: The example of you and me is like a group of
people dreading the attack of their enemy so they send a man
investigating the matter so the man noticed the enemy [approaching].
The book lists more with reference