I’ll have to be honest here; I’ve had major trust issues in my so-called ‘adult life’. I’ve had issues trusting women, friends and even family members. So this is my take on what trust means to me.
In my life ‘trust’ meant ‘drivel’, until 9th October 2013. It was on that day that I realised that ‘trust’ is an entity worth believing in, because I met the girl of my dreams.
Anyone who has ever trusted anyone in their lives, knows that to experience trust they have to break through a veil of doubt. The longer you’ve had trust issues, the thicker this veil becomes. So you break through all the doubt and encounter trust face to face.
What are the components of trust?
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1. Faith
Faith is one of the most important components of trust. It is almost synonymous with trust for some people. When you trust someone, you almost have blind faith in them.
2. Hope
When you trust a person, you always hope you can depend on them, when needed. The hope associated with trust is of the stronger variety. Hope is also the element that helps to rebuild trust, if your trust in someone is wavering.
3. Silent promise
Trust is usually built on a silent promise between two people. When doubt tries to enter a relationship, this silent promise may need to be fortified with verbal or written promises.
4. Love
Trust feeds on love. Love serves as a fertile ground for the growth of the tree of trust. It helps to strengthen trust, rebuild trust and at times even grow trust, where formerly there was no trust, at all.
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5. Peace
When you trust someone, it makes you a calmer person. Peace is one of the biggest branches on the tree of trust. People who’ve never trusted anyone for a long time, and then all of a sudden start trusting just one person, know exactly how pacifying and liberating trust is.
6. Growth
Trusting a person helps you grow. As it opens up your soul, it helps you see past, what you actually thought of, as obstacles. You’ll be more than willing to take a leap of faith, or tiny steps towards a better you, once you start trusting.
7. Honesty
Honesty is the very heart of trust. Without honesty, trust finds it almost impossible to survive. It is this component that infuses trust with more hope, peace and love. Being the heart of trust, honesty helps trust to grow.
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8. Happiness
Happiness is a branch originating from the tree of trust. People who trust are way happier than those who don’t. In my own experience, trusting one person alone has made my happiness increase almost exponentially. When your happiness increases, you end up sharing it with others and in turn making them happy.
9. Forbearance
Another important branch of the tree of trust is forbearance. Once you trust a person, you develop the virtue of forbearance. Needless to say, forbearance again gives you an edge over people who lack this virtue.
10. Reassurance
When you trust someone, in tough times, reassurance is by your side, reminding you that everything will be all right. It is a pivotal part of trust, and it helps bolster trust in more ways than one.
The only reason I realised that trust existed was because I crashed into you, at a time when I trusted no living soul. You entered my life when my life and future looked the bleakest. When I got to know you, I realised that you were a simple and reliable person, which was what made me want to trust you. I decided to get to know you better. With each encounter, the veil of doubt was getting shredded to pieces and my trust in you was getting stronger. In the first week of getting to know you, my trust in you, in myself and the world soared to unexpected levels. I had almost wound up as a misanthropic pessimist, but the trust I had in you, changed me in a trice. I realised after trusting you that trusting other people was not all that complicated a task.
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