"The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost, A Poem for Motivation and Mental Health
Updated: Oct 1
As World Mental Health Day approaches, we asked our community a question: what writing, specifically poetry, has carried you through hard times, or pushed you forward when you needed it?
Some of our best conversations about mental health have happened during recent late night ruck sessions, in the dark and close to midnight. Strip away the distractions, leaving the weight on your back, with hours with nothing to do but walk and what's left is the real stuff: purpose, pain and pushing past the things we're each quietly working through. And sometimes, when we're solo and the self-talk starts, a few lines of a song or a poem is what carries you through.
Frost wrote "The Road Not Taken" in 1915 as a gentle, ironic joke for his friend Edward Thomas, a fellow poet who frequently regretted his choices during their walks together. The poem has since become a cultural touchstone for individualism and choice, famously capturing the human tendency to look back and assign deep, life-changing meaning to the paths we choose to follow.
The Road Not Taken
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;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
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.
Final Thoughts
Poetry can give words to feelings that are sometimes difficult to express directly. Reading a poem, or writing one ourselves, can help us pause, reflect and make sense of experiences that might otherwise feel confusing or overwhelming. It can create a little space between what we feel and how we respond.
Is there a piece of literature or poetry that has affected, supported or inspired you?
Click here to go to the next poem in the series, or see the complete selection of poems below:
Poetry isn't a substitute for professional support when we need it, but it can be a simple and accessible tool for reflection and emotional wellbeing. Sometimes, a few carefully chosen words can help us see our own experience from a different perspective. Mental health is also be supported by adopting simple daily practices, to build the foundations of health.
And if you are an active or ex-service member in Singapore, consider joining Sandbag Asia, a registered society and support network for those in - or now out - of uniform.
Stay Healthy,
Alastair
Related Studies and Resources
Kassab A, Jayatunge R, Bou Khalil R. The therapeutic functions of poetry in mental health: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychiatry Res. 2026 Feb;356:116897. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2025.116897. Epub 2025 Dec 11. PMID: 41411711.
Johnson-Laird PN, Oatley K. How poetry evokes emotions. Acta Psychol (Amst). 2022 Apr;224:103506. doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103506. Epub 2022 Jan 29. PMID: 35101737.
Tracy, D. (2021). Veterans’ self-expression in poetry. Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health, 7(1), 108–112. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3138/jmvfh-2020-0005
Help for Heroes
WHO: World Mental Health Day, 10 October 2026, "Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change"
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