The Poem
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
BY ROBERT FROST
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Robert Frost (Born March 26, 1874 — died January 29, 1963) was an American poet. He is one of my favorites. Between 1900 and 1909, Frost lived in Derry, NH, and worked as a chicken farmer. The above poetic work was published in 1923, likely while Frost was teaching English Literature at Amherst. The poem entered the public domain in 2019.
When compared to our current time, Robert Frost led a relatively simple life. The first Ford automobile was sold in July of 1903 – 20 years before this poem was published. But Frost describes a simpler time when people in rural areas used horses and wagons rather than trucks and tractors. To be clear, tractors were available for most of Frost’s life (since 1892). They had become common by 1922. However, it wasn’t until the dustbowl years of the early 1930s that they really became heavily used. Out of that simplicity comes wisdom. During my most recent reading of “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening,” I saw five things I could take away from it to help my life and my business.
The 5 Things
- About How We Should Stop, Ponder, and Reflect
- About What the horse thought
- About Getting to work
- About Keeping Promises
- About Priorities
Stop, Ponder, and Reflect
In the poem, someone, presumably Frost, is driving a horse-drawn wagon (or sleigh, maybe) down a rural road outside the local village. It is snowing. The driver stops to appreciate the falling snow and the quiet. He could have simply observed the scene in passing as he continued on his way, but he didn’t. He stopped to take it all in. For a brief moment, he was focused on something very simple – the falling snow and the quiet scene. I think the quiet is as important as the falling snow. Maybe not just the external near-silence, but also a quieting of the mind.
Whether you work from home or in a busy office, we all have way too much access to information, and the information overload companion, distractions. Emails, social media, tasks, and instant messages all create a persistent noise. Maybe literally, with constant bings, beeps, and boops. But definitely a constant background hum in our minds. Taking a few moments to tune it all out and reflect is something that most of us rarely do.
Business owners are often admonished to “Work ON the business, not IN the business.” This refers to finding the right balance between the “strategic creator” and the “tactical worker” roles that business owners have to take on to get things done. Stopping to watch the snowfall and listening to the wind in the trees (or whatever your form of unplugging happens to be) will nourish that “strategic creator” side. It will allow the great ideas that fuel your business to step forward and make themselves known.
Most of us don’t have the luxury of only being strategic and creative. Sometimes we have to be tactical and focus on doing the mundane things that move the ball forward. My point, and what I learned from Frost’s simple wisdom, is not to get so wrapped up in all the things that need doing that we neglect to take that quiet few moments to listen quietly to our more creative side.
What the horse thought
When the driver stopped – apparently in the middle of nowhere, the horse thought this unusual. Undoubtedly, he was focused on the short-term (tactical) rewards waiting for him at the barn. Perhaps a rub down, a warm blanket, some oats, and a big drink of water. The chance to sleep for a few hours before he had to wake up and do it all again. “He gives his harness bells a shake” (creates a distraction) to let it be known that this strange behavior on the driver’s part is not fully understood.
Entrepreneurs, people with vision, and people pursuing a dream or goal have likely seen this in their lives. It isn’t malicious. The horse isn’t angry or vengeful. The fact of the matter is that when you follow your vision, some of the people around you, well, they just won’t get it. They won’t understand what you’re trying to do. Your actions will seem unusual to them. They may inquire, scoff, or assume you’ve lost the thread. That’s okay. You’re still driving the sleigh. You’re still following the vision. Even if you’re the only one who can see it, don’t worry about what the horse thinks. Follow your vision. Only you understand where it goes.
Getting to work
“The woods are lovely, dark, and deep. . . ” We can’t stay in our comfort zone or our happy place. Just like we can’t always be working on “Strategic Creative” things. We’ve thought, pondered, and spent time building out the vision. We’ve withstood the doubts of those around us. Now it’s time to get to work. Time is the most valuable thing you have to make your vision a reality. Your time is both unstoppable and finite. There’s no pause button, there’s no rewind, and there are no do-overs. You might get it wrong. Now is the time to pick up the reigns and drive on. Now, your reverie is behind you, and it’s time to act.
Keeping Promises
“But I have promises to keep.” Keeping promises is critical to our success. The most important promises to keep are the ones we make to ourselves. The next most important ones are the ones we make to the people helping us build towards our vision. When the driver stopped, the horse thought the behavior strange. It was outside of the pact that existed between them. The pact where the horse pulls the sleigh and all that it contains, and at the end of it gets a brushing, a blanket, food, water, and a clean place to sleep. The horse trusts the driver to drive consistently and safely, and the driver trusts the horse to pull the sleigh and follow the driver’s course.
It’s dangerous if promises go too long and are not kept. We all do it – give yourself some grace. However, keeping promises is really important for your reputation and your own mental health. If you don’t keep the promises that you make to yourself, you can damage your self-image and self-esteem. Not keeping promises to others makes them feel like you don’t value them. Either way, it can damage your life or your business. Whether you make promises to yourself, your employees, or your customers, you should do everything you can to ensure you keep them.
Setting Priorities
“And miles to go before I sleep.” This line was so important that Frost wrote it twice. To me, this speaks about having priorities and commitment. Almost every day, there are a couple of things that absolutely MUST get done. Usually, those are high-priority promises that we’ve made. Productivity expert David Allen would have us believe that, generally, the only tasks that belong on the calendar are the ones that have specific deadlines. I’m a huge fan of his Getting Things Done (GTD) method. I agree – cluttering up your calendar with tasks that need to be done could be negative.
On the other hand, YouTuber August Bradley in his “Life Design” system, has a really clever idea that I’ve been adopting into my own productivity system. Some of his system launches from GTD but also takes it to the next level. He says that rather than assigning specific tasks with a “due” date, he instead assigns a “do” date. That is the day and time that he plans to actually “do” the work. That’s maybe a riff on “time blocking,” where you actually schedule work sessions into your calendar. With time blocking, the blocks are generally generic focus sessions.
Regardless of what productivity system you’ve put in place – GTD, Life Design, Agile project management, or something of your own creation, it might be worthwhile to add these concepts. Our team uses Trello for task tracking and management. On my task board, I’ve added two lists “Promises to keep” and “Miles to go before I sleep.” I ask people on the team to add a card to the “promises” list for everything I’ve told them I would do. That’s how I keep track of what I owe. As I work through everything I must do, my most important priorities get moved to the “Miles” list. Once something is on that list, I must do it before I sleep, no matter what. That’s a promise I make to myself, and it’s crucial.
Conclusion
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening was written in a much different time when the world was a much different place. It was written in a time before instantaneous communications, hot and cold running social media content, on-demand streaming entertainment, and all of the noise and distraction that comes with these things. Yet it can still inform us of some very simple truths that will help us improve our lives and business relationships.
- Take time to reflect.
- Don’t worry too much about what other people think.
- Get to work, and keep at it.
- Keep your promises – to yourself and others.
- Make sure you get the most important things done every day.
Be careful out there, and be good to yourself and each other.
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