Soft and hard
Easy does not develop you. Does hard tire you out? It does.
Aspects split in two. Soft ones (trine, sextile) flow easily; talent comes from there. Hard ones (square, opposition) create friction; growth comes from there.
The common misconception
A common misreading is that a hard aspect means trouble. A chart of nothing but trines is comfortable and lazy. Nothing pushes, so nothing develops. A chart with no squares is a muscle with no resistance.
The rule: soft aspects tell you what you can do, hard aspects tell you what you will be working on.