DARING AND DISRUPTIVE: WHY IT’S OK TO CHALLENGE THE STATUS QUO

Daring.

Disruptive.

Two words used to describe you?

Excellent. Me too.

Daring and disruptive.‘ Got a nice ring to it doesn’t it?

When I was in primary school I remember being somewhat of a rebel.

I was always the one getting in trouble for talking too much and ‘distracting’ other classmates.

My report cards were often along the lines of, ‘Intelligent and has a lot of potential; could do much better if she applied herself more and talked less.

I was the kid constantly asking questions like: ‘Who says they are the rules?’ ‘Why is it done that way? Why do I have to do it that way? ‘Because I said so isn’t an answer. Tell me why?’

Instead of ‘agreeing with the masses,’ taking things at face value and blindly nodding and plodding along, I challenged, questioned, poked and prodded; like a detective investigating to uncover deep and dark mysteries, I was on a quest for the truth.

I vividly remember one particular day where my year 4 teacher stepped out of the classroom to go run an errand. Out of boredom and curiosity I decided it would be a good idea to put my chair on top of the table and sit on it (don’t ask me why).

Did somebody say, ‘daring and disruptive?’

Just as I was hoisting myself up on the table like a champion, Mrs. Unimpressed walked back into the room with a face which, could only mean one thing: detention.

Like I said, ‘R-E-B-E-L.’ with a capital R!

I didn’t understand why I got into so much trouble – sure it was a little ‘outside the box’, but worthy of detention? Surely not and I wanted to know why.

Of course I received the typical and infuriating, ‘because I said so’ adult-to-child response.

From that day forward I started questioning everything even more.

I’d contemplate things like:

Who says adults are ‘always right?’

Just because something has been done a set way for so long, why does it have to continue to be done that way?

And, surely we weren’t just put on earth to work hard, play little, with minimum passion for the majority of our lives with little to no reward.

Truth be told, I’ve always been someone who looks at things from a unique perspective. I’m the person who ruffles some feathers because I can’t (and won’t) just go with the flow and blindly agree with the majority, if, my heart isn’t in it.

Me? I questions, challenge, dare and disrupt.

You too?

Wunderbar!

Yep, you heard me – it is wonderful.

I used to be embarrassed and ashamed of the inner rebel in me and would try to silence and deny her.

Fast-forward a couple decades, several lessons later and a whole lot of personal development, and I find myself no longer shying away from the rebel within.

In fact, I embrace and celebrate her.

I have slowly but surely unleashed her and will continue to do so.

But I want to know about you.

Have you unleashed your inner rebel?

Are you embracing and celebrating her?

You know she’s there.

You can feel her, bubbling beneath the surface, eagerly waiting to be set free.

She is longing for you to befriend her, to let her shimmer and shine bright in the world.

I’m here to tell you:

It’s A-OK to be a little (a lot) rebellious; a little bit daring and disruptive.

It’s A-OK to be the woman who does things differently and goes against the grain.

It’s A-OK to loudly and proudly challenge the status quo (I sure do).

It’s A-OK to be a mover and shaker, someone who is fierce and fearless.

And what’s more than A-OK – it’s an absolute necessity.

It is your birthright.

It’s what your soul is longing for.

You’ve felt stifled for too long.

You long to be free. So does your inner rebel.

You dare to dream, then dream bigger and think outside the box.

If you’re honest with yourself, you’ve known for a very long time you are destined for greatness but you’ve held yourself back because of expectations of others; how others do things and what others expect of you or might think of you if, heaven forbid, you were to forge your own path.

Most of all, you’ve kept yourself safe and small.

But playing small doesn’t serve you anymore, does it?

Staying safe isn’t all that comfortable, is it?

You’re a natural born risk taker and rebel, a mover and a shaker.

Or, as one of my all time favourite human beings on the planet and biggest entrepreneurial influencers, Lisa Messenger, says, you’re ‘daring and disruptive.’

And you are! You absolutely are.

I know you too look at things differently and want to push the boundaries.

“Society constraints and constructs – it wants us to fit into the status quo and just do as we are asked, buy the things we are told to and do the things expected of us – but we don’t have to.

People let themselves be dictated to and stifled but you can question, rethink and push the boundaries if you want to in a smart, respectful way.”
– Lisa Messenger, ‘Daring & Disruptive: Unleashing the entrepreneur’

So, are you going to let society or other people dictate to you and tell you how to live your life? Are you going to conform to the ‘social norms’ or create your own?

Are you going to continue to allow yourself to feel stuck and stifled, or are you going to spread those big, expansive wings of yours and soar?

In my humblest and heartfelt of opinions, there is only one answer.

Don’t you think you owe it to yourself and the rebel within, to set yourselves free?

It is time.

Tell us one way you are going to be daring and disruptive in the coming week?

8 Responses to DARING AND DISRUPTIVE: WHY IT’S OK TO CHALLENGE THE STATUS QUO

  1. Hi Nic I am going to be daring by launching my blog in the next week! I think this is just the start of a new journey! I agree we shouldn’t spend our life following what other people want us to be! We need to have the courage to be our authentic selves whether that be disruptive and daring then we need to let that shine! Love your posts! keep them coming! x

    • Hi Jodie,
      Thanks for your comment lovely one. Wonderful, congratulations on being daring and disruptive by committing to launching your blog into the world next week. I can’t wait to see your journey unfold and to cheer you on along the way.
      I am slowly but surely learning over time, you just have to put yourself out there and not worry what other people might think or say, because in the end, it’s your life. Be daring. Be disruptive. The rest will work itself out!

      P.S. I’m so happy to hear you’re loving my posts, I will certainly keep them coming.
      x

  2. Love, love, love this!!! Been following your posts for a few months and always feel “revved up” and excited afterwards. You are continuously thought provoking and this post is no exception! :)

    Thank you x

    • Hi Katherine,
      Thank you so much for the comment love! It’s lovely to connect with ‘newbies’ here, although it sounds like you’ve been around my blog for a little while now, which makes me smile big. ‘Revved up and excited’… just what I love to hear!
      Look forward to connecting with you more.
      Nicole x

    • It’s the best, isn’t it? It will be a book I return to again and again. Glad you enjoyed the post, thanks for your comment. x

  3. Love this article Nicole! I remember my teacher writing in my High School yearbook – “Master of 101 excuses”. I just realized that it was my way of saying – Why should I do things just because everyone else has to? It has just dawned on me that perhaps my avoidance of life by dabbling in different things and “looking busy” so people leave me alone, stems from the fear of my own voice, power and grandness. This week I am going to find a new way to approach life and let my rebel out by asking her how she wants to express her voice, power and grandness. Thank you for the inspiration!

    • Hi Ena,

      Thank you for your beautiful comment. So glad you loved the article and drew inspiration from it. I think when we look at the way we think, speak and act in life now, stems from – to a certain degree – many things we were exposed to through our younger, more impressionable years.
      Sometimes it takes us a while to figure out that just because things have ‘always’ been done a certain way, doesn’t mean they always need to, or should be.
      Embrace your voice, power and grandness; you’ve got this!

      Nicole x

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