All endings have a taste of the final ending, death. Hashem wants us to approach Elul with simcha (joy). Chai Elul, the 18th of Elul, is the day that Hashem sent the neshamos of the Maharal, the Baal Shem Tov, and the Baal HaTanya, into the world. The avodah of Elul is not about focusing on pratim (details) of how far we are to living up to Hashem's expectations. Elul is about making a conscious decision to look at our life and ask what the purpose of our life is. If we are missing the desire to have dveykus (bonding) with Hashem, then we are missing the main thing in Yiddishkeit.