Trust is the cornerstone of success. You must be able to trust yourself and others because anything great is never accomplished alone. Trust is complicated because humans by nature can never be fully trusted. Even with the best of intentions, we make mistakes and fall short at some point. However, it is possible with the practice of good behaviors, and by strengthening certain disciplines, to be a trustworthy person. Although, we can never be perfect, the goal is to strive for perfection and to always be better. The more trustworthy you are, the greater your chance of achieving the goals and dreams you have for yourself and living a life of fulfillment and success.
If you want to be a trustworthy person and sharpen your skills of seeking trustworthy people, there are certain behaviors you will need to master. It takes time and discipline, but it’s worth the work.
Here are some things you can do everyday to help you improve the skills needed to be a more trustworthy person. Practice is the key to mastery.
“5 Daily Disciplines to Trustworthiness”
1. Admit when you’re wrong –
Everybody makes mistakes, and you are no different. There will be times when you miss the mark and fall short of your intentions. Most people are more than willing to forgive and show grace when we’re honest about what happened. Don’t be afraid to be wrong and don’t play the blame game. Take full responsibility of your errors and be willing to admit any mistakes on your part, whether by accident or by intention.
2. Be Open –
Live your life out loud. Being secretive and impersonal makes it very difficult for others to trust you. Keeping secrets and being closed off creates an uneasy environment for those around you. It’s very difficult to be trusted when there’s tension and an awkwardness due to someone’s unwillingness to be open and outgoing.
3. Show up –
They say showing up is half the battle and it’s true. People are counting on you to follow through on what you said you will do. However, this isn’t only true for others, this is true for yourself as well. Show up for yourself. Whatever you have decided in your mind to do, make it happen. The discipline of showing up proves you to have integrity and makes it easier to be trusted that you will do what you say you’re going to do.
4. Keep confidences –
Nothing can impact your trustworthiness more than gossip. If someone shares a personal experience or story with you, prove yourself worthy of trust by keeping their business confident. It can be tempting to blab what you know to others, but this will only make you appear to be a person that can’t be trusted with information. Gossip is slanderous and harmful. Whatever you do, don’t feed this habit. Practice the discipline of protecting the integrity of those who trust you enough to share their journey with you.
5. Be consistent –
There is nothing worse than a person who acts one way today and then another way tomorrow. This wishy-washy behavior cannot be trusted. Be yourself and allow people to see who you really are. The people who are meant to be in your life will love you for who you are, including all your less than perfect characteristics. Predictability is a key quality for trustworthiness. When you are consistent in your behaviors, it shows good character and a steadiness that is attractive to those around you.
Trust is a fragile and powerful word. It is extremely hard to build and extremely easy to break. The only way for people to be able to trust you is for you to prove yourself as a trustworthy person. The same is true when it comes to you trusting others. The only way you will know if you can count on someone is if they prove themselves trustworthy. No human is naturally trustworthy. It takes work, intention, discipline, and practice. Trusting yourself and others takes time, but it is the cornerstone for your success.
Article Written By:
Kim Martin, Founder of I’ve Decided, INC.
