Building Trust

It is what every person in a relationship desires, but few obtain. It is the foundation for success both personally and professionally. It seems to be becoming more and more rare. I’m referring to trust. Data tells us that less than half of people trust their employers, and that 40% of people have no trusting relationship in their lives.

With the rise of misinformation and the social media frenzy, the ability to build trust in an institution or individual seems to be at an all-time low. Trust is built when there is vulnerability in a relationship. It takes two people working together through failures and successes to gain a sense of security, closeness, and in our personal lives, love.

The problem is our tolerance for vulnerability in relationships can get low and this can cause walls to be built and communication to be diminished. If we want to grow trust, we must grow our willingness to be vulnerable and to allow others in our lives to be vulnerable. One of the greatest relationship myths is that “to be vulnerable is to be weak.” Nothing could be farther from the truth. It takes incredible strength to be open and transparent with someone.

Think about someone you trust. Do you trust them because they think they are always right or because they admit when they are wrong and seek to grow from that experience? I want to foster trust in my important relationships. I am going to work on displaying more vulnerability and less arrogance.

When we build authentic trust in our relationships, we will make a difference.

Larry