Can you be Trusted?

Sit in the privacy of your bedroom, look into a mirror and ask yourself, “Can I be trusted?” If you are honest with yourself, you’ll be surprised at the answers you churn.

Trust, just like many other important virtues (such as faithfulness and honesty), is becoming hard to come by today. People of integrity (literally filled to the brim with ‘trustworthiness’) are few and far between in our present world.

Our homes and workplaces are full of such people: People who don’t give two hoots about keeping their part of the bargain.

But trust is a two-way traffic. For you to be trusted you have to trust first. There is nothing for nothing. You have to invest something for you to be able to withdraw.

At the workplace, trust your colleagues enough for them to trust you in return. It is as simple as that.

Wait. Not as simple as that!

For trust to blossom and produce fruit, there is some intense work that goes into the works. You have to change some of your prejudices and stereotypes (and, if need be, discard them).

For instance, it is almost impossible for people to trust you with their money, if you cannot trust them with yours. The mathematics just adds up in people’s heads and they decide whom to trust and whom to deny trust.

So, if you find that people find it hard to trust you, my remedy is simple: Try to see how much you trust others. You may be surprised that what you have all along been expecting from people is something you have not tried to invest in them.

Try trusting some people today and you’ll be doing yourself a service. More people will trust you.