Closing the circle

Once on the Bay Run most of us are compelled to complete the full circuit.

Perhaps it is because the alternative would be to catch a taxi home or wait for a bus that may never come – or arrive. (I recently experienced a 90-minute trip from Burwood to Five Dock on the 492.) But for some, it is no doubt the mantra in our head of having to finish what we’ve started.

I often ponder why I must finish a book that I am clearly not enjoying and failing to find any connection to its characters or affinity with its plot. But I force myself to read it all, no matter how painful the process.

I rarely walk out on films, maybe in hope there will be a turn around. I will always finish a meal whether I am enjoying it or not.

I’m sure the root of this obsession comes from travelling around Europe on a $20 budget in the 1980s and living off one meal a day. I ate anything that came my way.

I generally finish work contracts, probably through some sense of misplaced loyalty even if I am being overworked and underpaid. Though, to be honest, these days I’m lucky to get a contract at all and am usually employed on a casual basis.

Life wasn’t always like this though! In my younger years I left a myriad of university courses unfinished – it was easier then as courses were free, debts did not exist (credit cards either) and life seemed limitless. Relationships finished abruptly on a whim and probably did not run their full course.

As years move forward, it seems that we are more careful with our decisions and don’t easily let go of what we start, even though it may not be fulfilling our expectations.

What does this mean for us, for our sanity? Not really sure, but at least our fitness will improve on the circuit!

Got Bay anecdotes? Message baybitch@ciaomagazine.com.au.