Those who disrupt rarely start out with the goal of being innovators or leaders. Many of the achievements that make inspirational people inspiring are not particularly difficult or extreme; they’re just brave and creative. So why don’t more people innovate and broaden their practices? Why do most people wait for others to lead the way before following?

There are a few points that hold most of us back from becoming innovators in our field:

• Humans are wired to resist change. We find safety and comfort in the familiar
• We get so stuck in a set routine of being productive that we don’t have the mental capacity to innovate
• We’re uninspired or have lost sight of our WHY for what we do
• There’s a sense of safety in sticking with what the herd is already doing. Once someone else has created something new, we feel safer because others are doing it too.
• We haven’t clearly defined our personal values and goals. If we had, we would develop a strategy for realising them and sometimes, the most effective and efficient way takes us off the beaten track.

Do we feel we need permission to strive for more?

Success can sometimes come with embarrassment or shame as if we don’t deserve the small steps that make climbing proverbial mountains a little easier. If we compare our mountains to others’ mountains, it can become difficult to make progress. If we climb faster than others, we often feel guilty. If we try new things and we fail, we feel judged. We find great comfort in conforming to what everyone else is doing.

This makes sense when you consider that humans are wired for tribal living. Those who didn’t fit in with the tribe were at risk of being excluded. Being without a tribe would put an individual in grave danger – you risk facing the elements alone, escaping predators, and not having food security. Survival depended on your ability to fit in with your tribe. Our brains are still wired to consider rejection a significant risk to survival, even though it no longer is so.

We don’t need permission to think outside of the box or to simply disregard the box altogether.

Getting in touch with your inner trailblazer

Seeing others succeed encourages us. Seeing others innovate inspires us to try something new or follow their lead. If you feel like something is holding you back from embarking on something new, consider consulting an expert to help you expand your self-awareness.  You could also use tools that can help you explore your thinking and approach to life in general or specific areas. Resources like this can give you insight into your gifts and capabilities, encouraging introspection and reflection so that you can authentically go or do something new.