Haha, Clavia, I think if you are writing for transformation, you must push far enough to challenge the reader's ego but not too far that you send people away. It's tough to write with the right tone and get people to learn the hard lesson without getting stuck with words or taking the message too personally. I think it's okay to be harsh if you have the right intentions, and I will always be experimenting with different tones until I find what fits the taste of Medium readers the best