Everyone has the potential to do nearly anything they set their mind to. It’s an undisputed truth. With enough hard work and practice, anyone can easily belt out their favorite song, paint a beautiful portrait, or write an enchanting tale.

However, due to the sheer amount of practice and work that it takes to do such tasks professionally, most people often create poor-quality work. Intentionally or not, even professionals sing off-tune, create bad sketches, and write nonsensical short stories from time to time.

That being said, even aspiring hobbyists often refrain from pursuing such interests. Nothing prevents people from pursuing such creative interests as a hobby. Yet, people are often discouraged from poor-quality performance. Why could this be?

It’s because of fear.

Society has convinced people to be afraid. Afraid of being ripped apart, afraid of judgment, afraid of putting themselves out there for the world to see. From the start, people are forced to strive for perfection in every area, knowing that the most perfect performances yield the most desirable results, even outside of the arts. That being said, people should not be afraid to pursue their interests, even if they aren’t immediate experts in the area.

Actually, this lack of expertise can be beneficial. Particularly for creators, such as singers, playwrights, and artists, both professional and unprofessional, action without care for quality serves as a release for the creative mind. It’s liberating. All of the ideas that are pent up inside the mind can be freed, and some of the best ideas can ultimately be refined into quality work.

In this line of thinking, action without caring for quality allows for experimentation. One is free to try alternative approaches to various situations, from a new rhyme scheme in a poem to an unusual flavor combination in a recipe. Trial and error is key, and sometimes great results can occur as an unintentional by-product of frivolous action.

Artist Katrina La (12) adds that “making bad work can distract yourself from stress.” Many forms of carefree release can potentially qualify as “bad work,” from a song sung in the solitude of the car to a simple sketch in the margins of a homework assignment. None of these are meant to be decent; however, the respite that they bring from the tribulations of everyday life is immeasurably valuable, even if the product is not.

Lastly, and most importantly, this method of working is fun. As a person with many interests, I love the freedom of creating without caring about the end product. In fact, I have likely created countless pieces of music that will never be heard, drawn numerous pictures that will never be seen, and written many tales that will never be told. Nobody will experience the things I’ve created, and rightfully so, as many of them were absolutely terrible. But I don’t really care if some of these creations go unnoticed. It was never about attention. It was always about passionately pursuing my interests.

In fact, the reason why we pursue creative interests is for fun. While criticism is useful because it helps us improve, sometimes we just want to do for the sake of doing. This purity of purpose allows us to truly enjoy the task at hand and let our ideas run free.

So go out there and create. Sing your heart out. Dance like nobody’s watching. Do without caring about the results. Even if you produce work that falls short of expectations, the work is still valuable, for it can be anything from progress, to practice, to an experimental concept. Do not fear judgment, for as long as you’re having fun doing what makes you happy, you’re doing a good job. And ultimately, that’s what really matters.