Is Trust an old-fashioned, outdated and naive emotion?

Things have changed - this is a popular assertion of mine, as the pace of change seems to accelerate, and what was probably true yesterday, may not be true today. There was a time that many people consider to be a "golden age", where words like "my word is my bond" was exactly that, and TRUST was a major currency. People did what they committed to do and they would move "heaven and earth" to ensure that their end of the bargain was upheld. I fear that this is now a somewhat outmoded perspective, as increasingly we sign NDAs before anyone will tell us today's date, and lawyers are kept busy with contracts that quite frankly often bring contract negotiations to a standstill (sorry dear lawyers).

Now, I for one have caught a cold on more than one occasion by trusting people - (my mother always taught me that I should judge people by my own standards, which thanks to her and my dad, were very high). However, this may appear a somewhat naive approach, as it's way too easy for someone to agree to what they may think is a good deal NOW, but later they decide (probably due in no small part to intervention from other influences) that it is not so good as they first thought. This lack of ability to trust people is causing contract discussions to move at a geologically slow pace, as everything must be documented and approved (sometimes by committees) before being committed to print (email). Often we can witness a glib agreement to something being "fine, I'll sort that out", when they may not even have the power or authority to do so, but have a strong desire to"get the deal done".

So it does beg the question where TRUST fits in all of this, as it does appear that nobody can afford to trust anybody anymore.

That said, it's still a big deal for me - TRUST, and I do judge people by my own standards - Naive - perhaps, but I am happy with my parent's teachings - as Old Fashioned as they may be.

What do you think?