Trust Is Earned

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When I was younger, I never understood the idea of trust. I thought trust was a given and that it should be. I felt that my parents ought to know better the friends I hung out with are never lousy influence, the decisions that I made are all right, and trust that I will be ok. And similarly, I also thought naively that everyone has the same good intentions and can be trusted. I trust that someone that I love will not hurt me. I have forgotten that we are fundamentally motivated by various reasons, and this trust that is given blindly without wisdom is like walking ourselves straight into a pothole blindfolded.

I have been both on the receiving ends of having my trust broken by someone and also breaking someone else’s faith in me. For that matter, it hurts, both ways. To have been hurt by someone I love and to know that I have the capability of cutting people that I love. Here is my take on how trust is earned.

Being Responsible

For people to trust us, we need to be responsible for carrying through with our words and actions. Being responsible means taking ownership of whatever decisions that we have made. Especially so when we know that we have made a mistake. If we have done something wrong, then we have to find the courage within us to acknowledge it, own it and to make peace with the person we hurt and with ourselves.