The Ten Days of Teshuva is given to us to enable us to atone and repent for any wrong deeds accounted for during the previous year, and to better our way of life in the new year.
A person might also become disheartened wondering how is one to fulfill adequately one’s real purpose in life on this earth, seeing that most of one’s time is taken up with eating and drinking, sleeping, earning a livelihood, etc . . .