My number one super power is saying yes. Over the next few weeks I'm taking part in some awesome events as a panelist or guest speaker simply because I put my hand up and said ‘yep, sure thing’. Obviously I’ve been asked to contribute more than my relentless optimism but I’d argue that one of my defining characteristics and what I bring to the table at such events is my willingness to give most things a red hot go.
Like most things in life, there isn’t a clear or simple explanation for how or why being an optimist has become such an important part of my existence. Perhaps it was spending 10 years running a business that left us with virtually nothing to live off which forced us to create opportunities for ourselves rather than wait for them.
When you have very little for such a long time you don’t take anything for granted. You no longer search for external gratification because you probably can’t afford it so you become clever about making the most of what's in front of you. You have to live in the present. I believe that being a ‘creative’ person has helped form this perspective, that and the free therapy I got during covid.
Being able to turn shitty situations into meaningful ones takes a certain amount of creativity. Imagining what's on the other side of the tangled mess in front you is often the only way to get through it. We need to be able to see the desired outcome or why bother persevering.
It annoys me when people say they aren’t ‘creative’ because I think that anyone who gets out of bed in the morning has the capacity to imagine what they want to do with that day. It most likely won’t go to plan because it never does but we can still conjure up a best case scenario, that’s why we keep getting up.
Creativity is required to make changes in our lives.
When we crack it at one job and decide we need another. When we pull off a perfect kid drop off / pick up at multiple locations within a tight 45 minutes. When we look in the fridge and only see a few eggs and some long forgotten spring onions but still manage to create an impressive fried rice to feed the family. All of these moments require creativity. They’re problems that need to be solved and while they might not win you any innovation awards, they still require the use of our imaginations to find a solution.
One of our finest family creations “May Day” is nearly upon us again. For the last 4-5 years, on or as close to the 1st of May we have had a ‘Yes’ day. As the lady who is known for saying ‘yes’ to everything, I say ‘no’ a lot to our kids. Unless it's completely necessary, like replacing school shoes, we really don’t buy the kids much at all. We’ve never been able to afford it so we created May Day as a single day where we say YES.
We’ll catch the train into Melbourne and spend the day mooching around shops and eating. I have a list of things I need to get the kids, sensible things like socks and jocks but the kids will be able to get some cool unnecessary shit that they want. At ages 7 and 9 they’re normally stoked with a new Nintendo game or giant soft toy - just something a bit treaty. We’ll spend the night at a hotel with a good buffet breakfast (Franks May Day wish is bottomless pancakes) and will probably go have a look at the NGV before carrying all our treasures back home on the train.
May Day has become a huge deal in our family. We talk about it all year and the kids no longer ask for stuff but just note that this should go on the May Day list. At the end of the day it is more about spending time together than buying stuff but through creativity we turned a perceived hardship into a family highlight.
Quick side note here about the kids and pocket money. We pay the kids their ages in pocket money through Spriggy so that if they want to buy treats they can, but with their own money. We didn’t want to have to say no to everything so by giving them control over a small amount of their own money they can buy something when we do the groceries each week. This autonomy over their own money has created quite savvy kids who have been able to take themselves through the self check out for years and are good at comparing value, even pooling money sometimes to get more bang for their buck.
I often feel like I’ve taken the hard road to becoming a creative, relentless optimism but I don’t think it could’ve happened any other way. Every single one of us has some completely unique set of circumstances that have led to us being the person we are today. Our ‘onlyness’ is what sets us apart from others and if a handful of people find value in me sharing that experience on stage then that's a hard YES from me.
