Sometimes it's easier to focus on other people more than on yourself. There could be things that about yourself that you don't want to think about, so instead you channel it into other people's lives, because it seems less risky to try to change them than to try to change yourself.

I hope this doesn't come off sounding too accusatory or too Freudian. It's not a selfish thing. It's something like, for example, you encouraging a friend to take up skydiving, even though you don't think you yourself could ever get the courage to try skydiving. If someone else is doing it, it seems like a fun and exciting experience, but when you're the one that has to take the risks, it becomes a lot less fun and exciting and a lot more worrisome.

Same with fixing other people's problems: it seems like much less of a burdensome job than fixing your own problems, whatever they may be.

It's easy to give advice (this advice included) and much harder to live up to it.