How to free oneself

On the authority of Abu Malik al-Harith bin 'Asim al-Ash'ari, radiyallahu 'anhu, who said: The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, said:
"Purification is half of iman (faith). Saying 'Al-Hamdulillah' (Praise be to Allah) fills the scales. Saying 'Subhanallah wa al-Hamdulillahi' (Exhalted be Allah and Praise be to Allah) fills the space between the heavens and the earth. Salah (prayer) is a light. Sadaqah (charity) is a proof. Sabr (patience) is a shining glory. The Qur'an is an argument either for you or against you. Everybody goes out in the morning and sell themselves, thereby setting themselves free or destroying themselves."
(Sahih Muslim)

SubhanAllah, one of the most beautiful ahadeeth I have heard in my life.

Lessons:
- Purification is through ablution(wudu) as it nullifies minor sins. When you are in wudu, you also feel guilty to disobey allah SWT. We should make it a practice inshAllah to be in wudu most of the time. It was the sunnah of Our prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam to go to sleep in a state of wudu.
- Importance of Dhikr (remembrance of Allah at all times). Alhamdulillah (Praise and Gratitude be to Allah) fills the scales, showing gratitude not only in our speech but also in our actions by showing obedience to Him SWT. The reward of saying "SubhanAllahu wabihamdihi" is magnanimous. Dhikr with speech will help increase our emaan, and help us become better Muslims, by keeping our minds focused on the remembrance of The Lord, and thereby, away from sinning and disobedience. Dhikr of Allah also includes the specific duahs we say during every act.
- Salah is the coolness of the eyes of the believer. He finds comfort, satisfaction and enlightenment of his heart through Salah, and Salah is a dialogue with Allah SWT.
-Sadaqah(charity) is a proof that reflects the emaan of the believer. People usually love wealth and money and if they challenge this love and overpower their greed for the sake of Allah, they indeed have strong emaan.
- Being patient is a very difficult and painful experience. It requires a lot of effort and struggle within. So when people control themselves and overcome impatience, they develop a good habit of self-control and become masters of their own selves. When we have a disagreement with someone, or someone says something against you, we feel very tempted to say things back, to prove our point, and we try to make our voice heard louder, as though that will prove a point. And it gives us a false kind of satisfaction and a sense of victory. But in reality, true victory is when we are able to control ourselves. Sabr is also the patience one shows in perseverance in doing acts of worship and righteous deeds and in abstaining from acts of disobedience to Allah SWT. Patience is also being patient with the Qadr(decree) of Allah SWT and not complaining about it.
-Quran is a proof for you if you recite it, reflect and act upon it. It is a proof against you if you ignore it completely, or recite it, and have the knowledge, but do not enact it.
- Every morning we sell ourselves either by freeing ourselves from the punishment or leading ourselves into punishment and hence destroying ourselves. If they work for Allah and obey Him they are winners, but if they violate the rules of Allah and disobey Him then they gain nothing but loss after loss.

(Explanation taken from Imam Nawawi Rahimahullah's commentary.)

And Allah knows best.