Trust, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something; one in which confidence is placed.
What are the costs of trusting too much? “Under-trusting? We discussed this at our Coaching at The Corner chat today. A lot of good comments…
- Does “being burned” warrant an escalation of your future mistrust?
- Can over-trusting lead to your being taken advantage of?
- Can your trusting attitude attract trustworthy people to you?
My take: it is more useful to err on the side of over-trusting than under-trusting. The downside of under-trusting is that it can become a self fulfilling prophecy, and/or impede a synergistic relationship. Note that low trust (just as high trust) is partly a self-fulfilling prophecy; people tend to live up, or down, to our expectations of them. Which would you prefer? And to protect yourself from the challenges of over-trusting, consider Ronald Reagan’s “Trust but Verify” challenge. Kathleen shared these words that can be useful in challenging situations: “Assume positive intent.” I really like that one…
So, a few pointers on how to be more trust-ING.
Henry Stimson once said, “The fastest way to make a man trustworthy is to trust him.”
- Remember That Most People Mean Well
- Embrace your Vulnerability
- Find The Root Of The Problem; Confront the Fear.
- Leave the past behind. Learn the lesson.
- Learn to trust yourself.
- Listen To Your Intuition
- Practice Using Boundaries
- Know When To Pull The Plug.
- Consider the alternatives.
- Assume positive intent (thanks, K!)
How to be more trust-WORTHY
- Tell the truth. Every time
- Demonstrate that you trust others.
- Directly address issues
- Deliver the unexpected.
- Demonstrate that you trust others
George MacDonald, the nineteenth century Scottish author and poet, said “To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved.”
Let us know what you think…
