Re: self-development
One of my observations in HN, and in most places I have been to is a strong preference for "comfort-orientation". People simply dislike when I propose that - taking on a challenge, working on a problem in a persistent/consistent way is needed, and that there is a price to pay. I feel the problem is truly at the philosophical level of their minds (not at a practical level). Therefore, instead of "self-development", I'm performing the "assumption-destroying" job here. It is an unpleasant affair overall, but I'm simply interested in the psychology & dynamics of the phenomenon.
The people who get into trouble usually buy the assumption that there is a formulaic solution, where they don't have to pay some serious price to get a real solution. They want something that takes less time, takes very little effort, and still delivers great benefits. I tend to emphasize "challenge-orientation" to counter this inherent bias I've seen in people. Ultimately, I challenge people at this level in the hopes that my strong emphasis on "challenge-orientation" does them some good in the long run :)
PS: You can see my comment history and notice, whenever I bring up the "challenge-orientation" idea, there is, almost without exception, at least one person seriously upset that a significant price may have to be paid to solve significant problems.