The Buddha said, “And what is right effort? It’s when a practitioner generates enthusiasm, tries, makes an effort, exerts the mind, and strives so that bad, unskillful qualities don’t arise…. so that bad, unskillful qualities that have arisen are given up…. so that skillful qualities that have not arisen do arise…. so that skillful qualities that have arisen remain, are not lost, but increase, mature, and are fulfilled by development. This is called right effort” (SN 45.8).