Be very careful about reading Shema (Hear) and saying the Amidah (standing prayer) properly. Make sure you say the Shema on time, as well as the Amidah. The Amidah has to be said at specific times of the day: morning, afternoon, and night. The ideas of Keriat Shema (recitation of the Shema) and Tefillah (prayer) represent the acceptance of the heavenly yoke—that a person has responsibilities in life. The Amidah represents Avodah, service of Hashem, which replaces the korbanot (sacrifices) in the Beit HaMikdash (Temple). So when you pray and say Shema, make sure you are very careful about them and treat them correctly.
The Gemara comments that there are things that are the height of the world. There are things that are the height of the world. There are things that are the highest place in the world, so lofty. People degrade them. They don't treat them properly. And that's Tefillah. When you pray, don't make your prayer fixed. In other words, don't look at it as something you simply have to get done. Don't look at it as a burden that you just have to accomplish. “Okay, I completed it. I prayed already. Okay, good. I took care of it. I checked that off of my list.” Look at Tefillah as a privilege. Look at it as an obligation.
Others say that “fixed” means here that you're not adding any of your own heartfelt thoughts to it. You're just reading it like a book. You're reading through it. You're saying the Berachot (blessings). You're saying everything properly, but there's no heart there. There's no emotion or understanding. Rather, your Tefillah should be one of mercy and begging, or supplications before Hashem, like the Pasuk (verse) tells us: Shene'emar (as it is said), “Hashem is gracious and merciful. He is slow to anger and He has a tremendous amount of kindness. And He lets go of punishment quickly as well.” We're using this Pasuk to show that when you pray to Hashem in a meaningful way, and you have the ability to get inspired by that Tefillah, that's where it means something. That's where the Tefillah counts on a high level.
Also, don't think of yourself as a wicked person. You have to think of yourself as a positive person. Look at yourself as innately good, and therefore you'll become good. A person who doesn't think of himself as good will start to become that person. He'll act wickedly. If he's not so good, he's going to act like it. So when you start to think of yourself in a better way, you'll act better, and your values will reflect that type of person. Famously, we said, “The world was created for me.” You have to think highly of yourself. When you do, with Hashem, we connect more to HaKadosh Baruch Hu.