Trust~firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.

It is impossible to talk about the value of trust without discussing all of the reasons we don’t trust or, worse yet, trust when we shouldn’t. It is one of the greatest learning curves in life, putting your trust in the right people and things. Today’s goal is to look at the things we trust and bring them into your consciousness and analyze if they are worthy of trust or not.  The things we trust build our beliefs about the world and the people we encounter in it. If your trust is misplaced, so is your belief, and your experiences will most likely reflect this. Once someone violates your trust, it is good to understand what it tells you about them. They certainly don’t have your best interest at heart.

Childhood Trust

There are education and indoctrination into becoming the human being you are today. The beliefs you have today were built on the foundation of trust people innately have for their family members. A person is born, and they spend the first portion of their life trying to figure out how the world works. What is safe? What can we trust? The parenting we receive and the culture we are born into providing many of these early answers.  The definition of success, goodness, desire, positivity, how to treat others, our values are all determined as we figure out life. Add to that the messages we receive from media and authority figures of school or other organizations.  It all determines what we trust.

As life unfolds and you have new experiences, many of the things you once trusted as truth are proven to be no more than an opinion you choose to accept as true. When you start to see these truths fail, it cannot be easy to trust anyone or anything.  Life provides a good classroom and having thoughts, opinions, and even beliefs that change and develop as new information and experience become available is a healthy thing.  The attachments of trust we build to beliefs make them Earth-shattering when they are proven not true. This can be a philosophy or a significant other. When these heartfelt truths are broken, so are you. At least for a while.

Trust Yourself

Life is much easier and enjoyable when you trust yourself. Of course, this is a much more difficult proposition than it sounds.  We all make mistakes, miscalculations, and misjudgments in the experience of our lives. How can we trust such a person? The choice is up to you, to crawl under a rock and hide from the past mistakes and cowering in fear because of the mistakes you will make in the future. Or you can see the mistakes for what they truly are, learning experiences. Some paths of knowledge are much more painful than others.

Trust yourself to learn the lessons is a big step in figuring out exactly who you are and what your purpose might be in life. Trust that you can handle whatever comes your way, no matter how uncomfortable, intimidating, or insurmountable it may seem.  Look at your life so far. How many challenges have you successfully (or unsuccessfully) navigated so far? Each of us is on our own hero’s journey, and the only way we can fail is to quit. Trust in the hero in you. Don’t let the villains who enter your life win.

Trust Your Experience

Daily we are inundated with messages. From society, social media, the mainstream media, advertisers, and government.  People seem to forget messages always have a purpose. In our society, we are given messages to buy things, spend money, gain possessions as if that will fill us up.  We all know, I think, that deep down, buying things will not fill our empty spaces. They are meant for real emotional experiences.  There is a momentary enthusiasm that may accompany a purchase, but it leaves soon, and you are faced with the same space.  Don’t trust the messages you receive from the outside. Analyze them and determine the motive.

Much of the “news” of the day is presented in a way to increase your level of fear.  A frightened person is easy to control. If you are afraid of your neighbors, you will not unite with them and do something revolutionary like think for yourself.  Trust in the experiences you have with people and situations. You know what good feels like and seek that out in your daily life. Trust it.

Recognize Trust

When it comes to relationships, trust is built over time and through consistent interactions with someone. We all meet people who we trust, and they are proven they don’t merit that consideration.  Just as with any experience, we should use these experiences to learn from. Not as an excuse to never trust again. The gold treasure of life is to find people and things you can rely on. Those are worth more than any monetary reward. It is also their scarcity that makes them so valuable. Trust again, but not anyone who has broken your trust. They do not deserve it.

It is simple to see if a person is worth your trust. Be conscious of their thoughts, words, and actions.  Do they do what they say?  Emergencies happen, but for the most part, if you say you are going to do something, follow through and do it. Trust is built.  In the same vein, are the things they tell you true? Really there is no good reason to lie or be dishonest.  Honesty is how trust is built, and it can all be torn down with one lie. A lie is proof of a lack of character and possible narcissism.

Trust

Evaluate your thoughts, words, and actions honestly today and decide whether they are worthy of your trust.  Are all of your beliefs valid, supported by observations and experience, or are they something you blindly accept?  Trust yourself to know the difference and to keep positive in your life and the negative out.  The answers are not the same for everyone.

Trust is an important ingredient in an enjoyable life. You have to give it to get it. It will restore your faith as quickly as it took faith away.

“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.” 
― Ernest Hemingway