I think this is a fascinating area, and I am quite passionate about it.
I truly believe that authors like Stephen Covey, and bloggers like Steve Pavlina truly want to help people. They have a message that is worthwhile to everyone, rich, poor and everyone in between. I do not want to take anything away from what these people are doing. I think its great. However, the message is not packaged in a way poor people can relate to.
Yes, Maslo's triangle and the hierarchy of needs plays into this somewhat. If you are truly starving, then a healthy diet or working on relationships is the last thing on your mind. But, in America, even the poorest of the poor have it better than many in third world countries.
One aspect of personal development is the idea of choice and personal responsibility. If you are poor, you are born into an environment where your family is struggling and people around you are struggling. Your suffocated by it. As I interpret personal development, all of this is my fault, my choice and my responsibility. From the poor perspective, this is not fair and, frankly, insulting. I did not "choose" the life I was born into, my environment and family dynamics.
If the receiver of a message is feeling like they are being attacked, this is the absolute worst way to communicate. People shutdown and become defensive when they are attacked - it's just natural. Personal development authors are not trying to do this on purpose, its just how it plays out.  |