Humans are social creatures. It has been scientifically shown that our feelings of isolation and being alone can result in an emotional hurt equal to tangible, physical pain.
This is why most people, when they find themselves doing or thinking the opposite of the majority, quickly "correct" themselves and conform to the group.
This is why when people get an idea they go and talk to five people about the idea and end up doing the consensus of what those five people tell them, regardless of their initial gut instinct or those people's credentials, knowledge or experience.
It's not that people are lazy or fearful or risk averse (well, maybe it is) -- it's that we are all programmed a certain way and we go through life mostly unaware of this fact.
A wise man (I think it was Mark Twain) once said, "When you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to reexamine your actions."
Another wise man (me -- I couldn't find the exact video) also said, "When you look around and see a bunch of people doing the same thing as you, you're doing the wrong thing."
When you're doing something that's not average, you'll find yourself alone. Isolated. Maybe you'll find some of that emotional pain creeping in. And pain is a strong motivator for humans. That's why it exists, after all -- pain is a signal from the body that something's not going according to the program.
You just have to remember that the program teaches you to be average. And sometimes, some parts of the program need to be ignored.
I've seen Army ads that say, pain is weakness leaving the body. The emotional pain of not following the group is conformity leaving the body.