Rabbi Steinsaltz writes:
When a person meditates upon God’s greatness and achieves a profound comprehension of it, this inevitably triggers an emotional response.
To “deeply contemplate and immerse itself exceedingly” is no easy task.
But when a person does achieve a true understanding of God’s greatness, he can be assured that his middot, his capacity for love and awe, will follow suit.
The same is true regarding negative contemplations: if a person is constantly confronted with corporeal temptations, this inevitably stimulates desire and transgression.
For such is human nature: when there is a persistent awareness and contemplation, emotional responses arise automatically.
The problem is that, in practice, envisioning the temptations of this world is far easier than envisioning the greatness of God.
–Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz