Building Trust

by Deni Tato, President - August 2010
 
In a relationship, trust is a shared belief that you can depend on another to achieve a common purpose. It is the act of being vulnerable and relying on others to treat you in a way that is fair, open and honest.  Trust is essential for effective team-building, team communication and conflict resolution.  What are the traits, attitudes and beliefs we need to develop in order to build trusting relationships?

As with any practice based in consciousness, the work must begin within.  The level of trust that you allow yourself to experience is based on how well you are able to trust yourself.  You must learn to trust yourself and your inner authority before you can build trusting relationships outside of yourself. Building trust starts by believing at an authentic level that the Universe is a loving place that is always working towards your greatest good.  Trust is knowing that you are an important part of this Universal process, and that you have the ability to draw toward you, create or manifest what you want in life.  This in itself can be a lifetime of inner work.

In order to create trust, there must also be an intentional balance established of hope, faith, and reliance. Hope is the expression of an abundant presence, overflowing with possibility. When you have hope, you can look at any situation and see all the potential that is there.  How much hope do you have in universal abundance?  Are you aware of your own abundance?

Faith differs from beliefs in that beliefs aren’t based on fact, they are merely opinions of one center only – the mind.  Unconsciously, our lives and circumstances are often created by the beliefs that we hold.  Faith, however, is deeper than belief.  Faith is a choice of unwavering conviction made with all three centers - the body, heart and mind - that holds us steady during trying times.  Do you have faith in yourself?

Finally, reliance is dependability and having a bias to action for self.  We are constantly taking action (or not) and responding to life based on our level of reliance for self.    Can you rely on yourself to take action when you need to create change in your life?

In order to improve relationships I encourage you to look deeper and determine the areas in your relationships where you do trust, as well as places where trust is lacking.  Trust begins within.  To improve trust in others, begin by examining your own trustworthiness and how it might be improved.  It is the personality that blocks us from experiencing trust in ourselves and therefore in others.  As we become more aware of unconscious roadblocks to trust and learn to loosen them, we can develop more effective relationships and teams and make conscious choices to build trust.  The more you trust yourself, the more easily others will trust you, and vice-versa.  It is a positive feedback cycle for the entire team.