How do I stop playing it safe at work out of fear of my review?

You are protecting a rating, and the price is the work you never do. That is a real trade, and right now you are paying it quietly. The organisation loses your best ideas, and so do you. A review measures a slice of you on one day. It cannot capture the value of a risk that pays off, and it will pass whether you played safe or not. Playing safe feels like control, but it slowly makes you smaller. You do not have to bet everything. Pick one idea you have been holding back and take a small, honest version of it. Do the work and let the result speak. Courage grows by being used, not by waiting for a safe year.