Regaining trust is never an easy task. It takes desire, work, commitment and risk. Relationships are superficial without trust. And in life relationships are everything.
Be honest. Be honest with yourself and others. Words are powerful they can heal or destroy, they can build up or tear down. Use words carefully. Honesty is always the best policy. Become aware of how you exaggerate or “stretch the truth.” Then change Dishonesty is never justified regardless of what others are doing.
Be honest with your family, friends and coworkers. Being truthful always builds trust. Keep confidences. Respect the privacy of others.
Create safety in your relationships. Do people feel safe and secure around you or do they fear being attacked? When one feels safe and secure it’s easier to be honest. It’s important to feel safe on all levels in relationships: spiritual, emotional, mental and physical.
Become aware of people and situations where you don’t feel safe. Avoid them when possible and always listen to and trust your gut. Gut feelings are never wrong!
Seek out others who are trustworthy. Learn from them. If you have integrity, honesty and trustworthiness you will become better at recognizing these qualities in others. Put yourself in the presence of trustworthy people and observe.
Practice showing respect. Speak kind words. Be the first to greet someone. If you want to stand out always hold the door open for the person behind you. Make it a habit. Say please and thank you. Allow someone to cut in front of you in line and in traffic. Watch the reaction you get and how it makes you feel. Respecting is about honoring. You recognize that you are blessed to be in someone’s presence.
Do random acts of kindness. Surprise the people you love with a “thinking of you” card or leave a love note in their car. Do things for others who can’t pay you back. Donate to a charity. A small donation is always better than no donation. Smile. Practice patience. It’s the only way to live.
Take risks. To love is to risk. Love is never guaranteed and people and situations always change. Take loving risks anyway. Tell your significant other, your children and family members that you love and care about them, regularly. Open up with your feelings. Never abuse or laugh at how others are feeling.
Be yourself. Being genuine is rare. Don’t follow the crowd. Speak from your heart. Never be ashamed about who you are, what you have or where you came from. You are unique and irreplaceable. You are a gift. Genuine people stand out. People want to be around them.
Refuse to judge others. Allow others to be themselves. Judging is easy accepting differences takes desire and commitment. Judging divides and accepting unites. There is no in between. An example of this is the “black sheep” in a family. It’s the person other family members have judged to be different. It causes brokenness and pain. Become aware of who and how often you judge. Then practice acceptance.
You have the ability and the power to build trust in your relationships through the choices you make you daily. When you become vulnerable enough to trust yourself and others your world opens up.
