A half-built bridge rusts in the rain

Express Tribune

09-03-2025

The writer is an educationist based in Kasur City. He can be reached at [e-mail]
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Endless beginnings characterise our time. Unfinished tasks cover our lives like digital dust, from the half-read books on our nightstands to the unused gym memberships. Since potential and resources both bless the modern mind, why do so many of us find it difficult to get across the finishing line? The "incompletion epidemic" contends that our general inability to complete what we start is more than just a personal flaw but a structural catastrophe with far-reaching effects.
Psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik found in the 1920s that waiters remembered unpaid orders better than finished ones – a phenomenon now known as the Zeigarnik effect. Our brains grip onto unfinished tasks, creating mental mess that drives anxiety. Perfectionists quit projects to parry off criticism, whereas procrastinators confuse the relief of procrastination with freedom.
The current attention economy is a war on focus. The typical individual looks at their phone 144 times a day, destroying attention. Although society praises "busyness" above conscientious attention, neuroscientist Earl Miller points out that multitasking lowers output by 40%. The outcome is a disposable attitude that undervalues hard fighting.
Chronic incompleteness is connected to lower life satisfaction in Dan Ariely's behavioural economics research. The writer who never finishes their manuscript, the student who drops out – these "ghosts" trigger imposter syndrome.
In the Bollywood movie Toolsidas Junior, a young boy resolves to take revenge on the nemesis of his father who after having walkovers to the finals of the club snooker championship loses six times to the same rival. With the help of a hardened pro, the boy, after overcoming the curveballs, proves himself a prodigy. But like his father, the boy also has the flaw of not finishing off the decider with aplomb.
The maestro locates its reason in the boy's failure to wrap up his routine activities like he never eats up his meals. He asserts: "Start finishing the small things in life. Then, not just blackie, you'll be able to pocket the entire universe." The boy starts polishing off his dinner plate and overcomes his weakness.
You would be rightly thinking of the dining etiquette taught by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that one should eat one's meal to the last crumbs.
The deserted tasks can cause mental clutter in students. The brain allocates a portion of our short-term memory to unfinished tasks, causing a sense of cognitive tension. This tension manifests as intrusive thoughts, making it challenging to pay attention to the task at hand. Similarly, standardised testing promotes rapid answering, making students avoid sustained inquiry.
Psychologist Carol Dweck's research on 'fixed vs growth mindsets' reveals how a fear of inadequacy keeps many trapped in cycles of stagnation. Botched tasks lead to multitasking that causes gradual loss of working memory. Finishing in a distracted planet is a source of mindfulness and happiness.
The Zeigarnik effect subjects us to the 'Tyranny of the Shoulds', as described by psychotherapist Karen Horney, in which we compare what we are with what we should be. Tasks forsaken for too long result in rumination or anxiety that dent self-esteem.
One who deserts tasks ditches relationships. Without any ulterior motive, he never dedicates himself to anything. He remains in search of lame excuses to shirk commitments.
To hold back the truth or counterargument also nurtures in us stifling incompleteness. It might be out of fear of conflict, social pressure or self-preservation; it leads to emotional suffocation which is vented, then, in ugly forms.
Incompleteness is not only personal; it's also civic. Political philosopher Francis Fukuyama cautions that quick electoral cycles dissuade politicians from addressing intergenerational problems. In Pakistan, few governments mature to completion. Hence, incompleteness is in our political and national DNA.
Laodicean governance spawns public disillusionment and cynicism. When people equate good governance with completion of projects, they downgrade the role of a government from glorifying the country in the comity of nations to mere completion of projects. Such a role is incomplete.