“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
– Robert Frost
I’m sure that you have also felt like the lost wanderer in this poem, stuck between crossroads with one frequented by many and an untrodden path that almost no one is willing to embark upon. What have you done? Or what would have you done in that situation? Whether we are planning a trip, an event, or life in general, we are faced with this dilemma – to go with what is popular, or to explore the unknown.
I myself am a very indecisive person. I’m the type of person to get kicked out of a fast-food joint because I would stare at the menu for half an hour holding up the line. So, making a decision, let alone making an unpopular one, would make me anxious beyond the point of recovery. But, sooner or later we all have to choose to go down one path or the other. As the French say: “c’est la vie” – such is life.
But have you ever wondered why we can be so hesitant or afraid to go against the crowd, to challenge the norm, to take the road less travelled? Well, back when we were cavemen hunting mammoths, painting sick art pieces on cave walls with wild boar blood and getting eaten by saber tooth tigers if you wandered away from your pack of fellow cave people, it would certainly mean, well, getting eaten by a saber tooth tiger! So, we programmed ourselves to always stick together, to follow the crowd and to imitate others’ actions. If you did what everyone else did and not become too adventurous, you could potentially live to see another day.
Back in the 21st century, we obviously don’t live in caves anymore and can go about our day without the lurking fear of being mauled by a dire wolf. But our programming, our caveman brain, has remained unchanged. In modern times these instinct manifests itself in our day-to-day lives as the fear of trying new things. Conformity is comfort. Although this line of thinking has served its purpose of keeping us safe from potential threats, it can cripple curiosity and creativity. Indeed, most of the famous people we learn about in school, from Shakespeare to Newton to Gandhi are all individuals who took the “road less travelled”. They have tried something unconventional and made innovations. History does not remember the person who plays it safe.
But I know, picking what is unpopular is hard. For example, let’s say you have a brilliant new idea for a new business and you are dreaming about making it come to fruition. At first, not everyone is going to be on board with you. Your friends may tell you that it’s a waste of time, your parents might disapprove and of course, all the local aunties and uncles within a 10-mile radius will jump at the opportunity to tell you to get a ‘real job’. It is tempting to listen to them. After all, starting and running your own business is hard and there is a chance that it may fail. But it is important to remember what Frost writes in the last two lines of his poem: that taking the road less travelled can make all the difference. Even if you fail, you will learn from your mistakes and try again and do better.
Taking the untrodden path may not be the easiest or most comfortable thing to do. You need to maintain your inner resolve in order to persevere through external obstacles. But at the end of that path, you can come out as someone entirely new and that can make all the difference.
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