Make something terrible on purpose with nobody watching. Permission to be bad is where a lot of style starts.

STILLNESS

WHAT THIS MEANS

Style comes out of volume, and volume requires being willing to produce rubbish. The fear of being bad is what keeps most people at nothing, since nothing cannot be judged. Permission in advance removes the stake, and a deliberately terrible attempt usually produces one accidental thing you would never have planned.

Set aside half an hour and make something with the goal of it being poor. A song, a drawing, a short story, a recipe. Nobody sees it, you are not keeping it, and the only thing you are practising is starting.

A QUESTION TO SIT WITH

Where in your life would permission to be awful help?

MORE IN SOLITUDE & SELF-KNOWLEDGE

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