“You have standards”.

What does it mean to have standards?

Does it not mean to have limits?

Yes, you limit (save) yourself from the possibility of producing substandard work.

You also limit yourself from the possibility of producing something brilliant.

Do your standards predict genius? Do your standards encapsulate the genius?

 

Standards destroy creativity.

Standards destroy ingenuity.

Standards destroy spontaneity too.

 

One way to ascertain mediocrity is to set standards on people.

Standards may perhaps be saving us from poor work – but you get mediocrity in return.

You, critics, can keep your standards. It’s a miserable existence that of a critic anyway. I would hate to be a critic. But someone has to judge things, rather then enjoy them. “…this must be influenced by that and that must be influential in that sense blablabla…” — and all the rest of it.

But NO CREATIVE should EVER has standards.

You don’t create to meet certain norms.

You don’t create to achieve something.

If you create with end in mind — you are not being creative. You are just rehashing some idea someone put to your mind before – and not exploring. To explore is to have nothing in mind, you are empty, as you invite the unknown to breath through you.

No creative should ever has standards for he is not creating with any end in mind – no standards to be met – just CREATION.

Standards destroy creativity.

 

Worse so – standards destroy spontaneity.

How do you act spontaneously if you have an end in mind? If you have to meet standards, realise resolutions, realise the plan…? How is this ever spontaneous and pure, and not robotic, mechanical, arduous?

You can’t impede your action in ANY way. You just can’t. You can’t have any standards. Any preconceptions. Nothing. The moment you have an idea about your action, about your activity – it becomes part of this meaningless narrative, it becomes just a dead-activity, a movement of a habit, a story.

Before you know it – you turn into a machine. You realise a plan. You becoming mechanical. You adhere to a routine. You adhere to a habit. Before you know it – your action becomes activity. Your work becomes your job. Before you know it – your initial pure inspiration is gone – and you are just left with a routine, with a script, and you only care for that script, it’s stupid goals and ends, and you forget what it’s like to be inspired, you forget why you were doing something in the first place.

Standards destroy spontaneity.

Have standards and you will have a job (i.e. unpleasant, uncreative duty which you are compelled to do against your will).

 

Don’t think standards are good for you.

They are not.

You can use “standards” when you are a critic. You can criticise your own work. You can decide what to show to the world and what to keep to yourself.

And then you act again. Create again. And forget about standards.