Hashem Likes It When People Are Happy
The Passuk says תַּחַת אֲשֶׁר לֹא עָבַדְתָּ אֶת ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ בְּשִׂמְחָה כח מז. A Yid should make a career throughout his life to weed out all negative thoughts, and to promote as many positive and happy thoughts. Hoda'ah and Bitachon are forms of thoughts that give you Simcha. Rabeinu B'chayei says that there are two parts to a Mitzva. Besides the actual Mitzva, having Simcha over the Mitzva is a Mitzva in itself. And since the Torah says: תַּחַת אֲשֶׁר לֹא עָבַדְתָּ אֶת ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ בְּשִׂמְחָה תבא כח מז we are punished for not serving Hashem with Simcha, it appears that not having Simcha over a Mitzva especially deserves an Onesh (punishment) even more than not having done the Mitzva itself.
From here we see the importance of working on Simcha in order to avoid a strict and difficult Din on Rosh Hashanah. How important it is to cheer up in order to avoid punishments! It would be worth plenty of time and effort to sit back during Elul and "kvell" and bask in the glory and Simcha of all you have already done.
Dovid would sing half a night and the other half he would sing in appreciation for the Torah that he just learned. No wonder Dovid is so special. דָּוִד מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל חַי וְקַיָּם He lives forever, and will be Moshiach, B'mheira B'yameinu, Amen. New recipe for escaping punishments: Be B'simcha. It might be a mistake for some people to have a tense Elul by increasing their Torah and Avoda with many Blatt (pages of Gemara) and lots of Tzedaka, but with a seriousness that could be lacking Simcha.
Do you want to be Zoche on Rosh Hashanah and have a good year? Maybe do less Torah and Chesed, and spend time being happy over your Avodas Hashem! The Gemara says that Dovid didn't get that many punishments as Shaul despite doing more Aveiros. The Gevuras Ari says it's because of his colossal Ma'asim Tovim which were mainly lots of: שִׁיר וְשֶׁבַח song and praise to Hashem. Extreme thankfulness is a master Segula to be Zoche B'din and all kinds of successes and Yeshuos in life.
R' Yosef Zalman Bloch Shlita in Iggeres HaBitachon says that Dovid had less Onesh (punishment) because of Middas HaBitachon which he had the most of. Perhaps there is a major proof to this since: אַפִילוּ רָשָׁע הַבּוֹטֵחַ בַּה' חֶסֶד יְסוֹבְבֶנוּ ילקוט תהלים סוף פרק לב Even a Rasha who has Bitachon in Hashem will be surrounded with Chesed. So we see that a Baal Bitachon is helped despite his sins (hopefully he'll do Teshuva) and perhaps: תַּחַת אֲשֶׁר לֹא עָבַדְתָּ אֶת ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ בְּשִׂמְחָה תבא כח מז not serving Hashem with Simcha can mean Bitachon which brings Simcha (and is Simcha Mamash(. R' Dovid Shustal Shlita said in a Shmuess that: מְרֵעִים בִּקְרֹב עָלַי מְרֵעִים לֶאֱכֹל אֶת בְּשָׂרִי בְּזֹאת אֲנִי בוֹטֵחַ means sins and: מְקַטְרְגִים accusing angels, and Bitachon means that you have Bitachon despite your sins (of course there is a Makom for Teshuva). So spend your Elul and Rosh Hashanah dreaming happy Bitachon thoughts about a wonderful year. (These dreams save you from Onesh (punishment), and B’ezras Hashem they'll come true also, with Siyata Dishmaya!)
You Don't Need Any Cheshbonos How to Have a Yeshua
I once discovered that I had a very difficult class, and this can give a Rebbe a miserable year, Rachmana Litzlan. I dreaded walking into class the next day. So I spent a long time learning Mussar B'hispa'alus on Bitachon, and this calmed me down and I laughed. R' Yisroel Salanter Zatzal says that where the Sechel stops, Bitachon begins. So you don't need any Cheshbonos how to have a Yeshua. Sure enough, the next day was surprisingly Gevaldig, and Hashem gave me new Chinuch ideas that I never dreamed of before
