How do you navigate a cluttered mind that wants to start and hardly ever finish? I hope this helps someone.

In 2023 I started a literature class. My two teens and two other students meet on zoom each week and discuss poems. Our very first poem was “The road not taken” by Robert Frost. Many know this poem. It speaks of two roads. One worn and well travelled and the another that “wanted wear”. The traveler takes the road less travelled and concludes that it ‘made all the difference.’

Frost originally wrote the poem to reflect on the benefit of making a decision. Any decision. He was not extolling the decision the traveler made. Only that he made a decision and making one was better than not making one.

I made a decision to paint 100 portraits. At the time, I thought this to be a good decision. I would learn and share what I was learning. And have work to show for it. Perhaps I would show that work and have a story to tell about the process of painting each portrait. My work would no doubt develop and I would grow as an artist and a communicator. It was a decision I made in order to benefit from the mechanism of making a decision. Pushing forward and moving out of the land of indecision.

But, a few things I didn’t consider were what it would cost me in time and resources and how would I mitigate the boredom factor. For me, starting is way easier than finishing or even continuing. So, I would definitely need to figure these things out before I started a project so that I could have the best chance of completing it.

What is more fun than starting a new project? Successfully completing one that I chose thoughtfully. Also, this might be the road less travelled because it takes more intentional effort.

My lesson(because there always has to be one) is to count the cost. Of course, I didn’t come up with this, it is a very well known parable in the Bible that applies for any project. The other part of the lesson is to make a decision, moving forward with the information and calculations to succeed.

So, did The traveler in Frost’s poem regret his decision? The writer leaves us to wonder. One thing is sure, a road was chosen and It made all the difference.