You are so inspiring!

The disruptors in an industry rarely decide that they want to be innovators or leaders. They don’t set out with that goal. They simply have a mission, and usually, they find a more effective way of achieving their goal outside of the usual industry standard. Being inspirational is the same. You’re a leader, but only because you had such a clearly defined goal that you wouldn’t settle for anything else and found yourself innovating to realise that goal. So why don’t more people innovate and broaden their practices? Why do most people wait for innovators to lead the way before following?

We need trailblazers to lead the way, here’s why

It is interesting to note that many of the achievements that make inspirational people inspiring are not particularly difficult or extreme; they’re just brave and creative. 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.
• 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?

Sometimes we can feel like we don’t deserve the small successes that make climbing proverbial mountains a little easier. If we compare our mountains to others’ mountains, it can become challenging to 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.

When you consider that humans are wired for tribal living, these feelings make sense. 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 innovate. 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 are brave enough to turn the outdated approaches to business, family, hobbies, or anything else, upside down but lack the know-how, 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. One example of such a tool is the Marvellous Women Cards. Resources like this can give you insight into your gifts and capabilities, encouraging introspection and reflection so that you can lead more authentically.