The currency of trust makes any relationship, organization, and culture thrive.

Once in a while, situations in our lives cause us to lose trust in others or ourselves. There are people who have hurt us in the past, or you personally made a decision that you did not have the knowledge to properly make. Whatever the reasoning, trust can be lost by our personal experience. We begin to second guess ourselves and cause time to pass in hopes that we will figure it out when the time is right. Unfortunately, there is never a “right time”. The time is now.

In my life, I had a history of keeping people at a distance. There were some childhood experiences that caused me to mistrust others around me. My mind wandered to conclusions when I met people, assuming that there was an agenda that someone was trying to fulfill. It caused me to have a “chip on my shoulder” with people, creating a world where is was, “Rion vs. The World”. I fought to keep up an appearance that showed that I was in control of every situation, but under all of the facade, I needed healing. Over the years and through lots of counseling, I learned to open up quite a bit and allow myself to unapologetically be myself to have deeper relationships with others. I decided to remove the barrier and allow my relationships to gain deeper roots. This process was terrifying, but I was tired of having shallow relationships around me.

Pastor Craig Groeschel stated, “The only way leaders can gain trust is to give trust to others”. In fact, trust is the foundation of faith. If you have trust issues in specific area, you will have wavering faith in that area too. Stephen M. R. Covey made this powerful quote in his book, The Speed of Trust.

“Trust is like the aquifer—the huge water pool under the earth that feeds all of the subsurface wells”

This book is one of that every leader should read.

Trust is an invaluable gift that one gives to another. There will be people that will take advantage of it and others will cherish it beyond measure. Of course there are levels that you give trust, but this thought reigns true: you will never know how much you can give, if you never give first. Don’t miss out on the possibilities that trust provides.

What are your thoughts? Post in the comment section.