I will share some of my views based on some of what you said here with which I basically agree.

I have been looking at what it takes for people to change/improve for a number of years. I became my first test case and change is no easy thing. One can lose much materially during conscious changes. They can lose all their 'friends' when they make a shift. One has to be first committed to oneself and be clear on the correctness of one's actions.

Most people who appear to be improving rarely go past talking about it. You are quite correct; they just try to hide the disgusting aspects of their persona. It is quite common and acceptable in most societies for people to say the right things while doing the opposite. People do not think much of integrity. They accept it as being human if they do not live up to their best understanding.

Real change comes after tremendous effort when it becomes easier for an individual to do what he/she understands to be the truth while always being ready and willing to change when they reason out a better position. Essentially, truth cannot be compromised. Attempting to compromise truth is one of the reasons it sounds easier to change than it really is for most people.

All people have the potential to be good and bad. Specific historical experiences contributed to some characteristics that we can see as bad today, becoming active in people, and more universally positive characteristics becoming recessive. This type of poor character development usually takes place when people are preoccupied with their physical survival while having a very limited awareness of who they are on an essential level (this will take a while to fully explain … so that's for another time). The point is, all people have the potential to be good and bad, and not just either good or bad in a general sense, but on a micro level - good in some respects and bad in others (I use good to mean actions that are in all of our best interest, and bad to mean actions that are against our common best interest).

It takes personal work to shift from a poor character to a better character. It takes uncompromising dedication to doing the better actions to allow the shift to take place, where a poor habit becomes recessive and a better habit is allowed to become active. This makes it more difficult for someone to revert to a poor habit because to revert involves tremendous stress. It is easier to do what is right when the transformation takes place. Often people revert before they transform so they just remain with an awareness of fundamental right and wrong. Of course, they will come up with all types of excuses in an attempt to justify their lack of commitment to change.

Fundamental change requires one to work from one's genetic level. Change from the genetic level means to be working on the nucleus of one's being. If people are out of touch with their nucleus (self) then they just don't get it. Those who were/are in touch with their nucleus (self) know the tremendous work involved, especially when they go against the very things they worked out as better conduct.

I know few people who are committed to improving themselves. There are many others who feel they can improve and are trying various ways, but most people appear to be cool with lip-service. They hunt down the words to this song of life but cannot make the music, let alone dance to it.