herd mentality

many of us, if not most, suffer from this... it is easier to take a route that is well laid out, to follow examples, to do what others do...
but why always be the follower? why not care to lead too? why not lay down the pattern that others would want to follow?
it may be from a fear of rejection, of what others might say... since most of these others are followers too and not leaders, so for them any one who takes on a different route is a black sheep to watch out for...
also, originality takes some new thinking, some new effort, some breaking of rules, some charting of new roads... who wants to take that pain?
so just follow and be at peace... this is the mental make up...
but break the rules once, set the pattern for a change and see the joy that follows... first will be the feeling of having done "it"... that "it" will give a high that is not quantifiable... which is much above the comfort that follows a follower... yes, there will be initial questions, but with the confidence, with the sure gait of an achiever all critiques can be silenced... soon they too will start following the new path...
it is a different self that has been created, a new you/me... so just do it... get out of the herd and create your own...