It is incredibly important to be wise about how we extend trust to other people in our life. A framework that I have found useful starts with a high propensity to trust. However, we must also analyze each circumstance based upon the situation, risk and credibility of the other party.
When you are asked if you trust someone, it is perfectly rational to ask, “to do what?”
Obviously, we should try to exclusively trust the trustworthy; and not to trust the untrustworthy.
The components of trustworthiness are character traits, like honesty, plus competence and reliability. Therefore, as you are making the decision about extending trust wisely, you must take into account each of the three. Through the analysis, It is crucial that we maintain that high propensity to trust.
One way to develop early trust is to make yourself vulnerable to the other person. It works in reverse also; you can feel good about extending trust to those that make themselves vulnerable to you.
“There is no rule more invariable than that we are paid for our suspicions by finding what we expected.”- Henry David Thoreau
Do not withhold trust, because there is risk. There will always be risk.
Interesting, I could substitute the word “love” for the word “risk” above and this article would still work.
Just my opinion. What do you think? Let me know in the comments.
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3 thoughts on “Choosing When to Extend Trust”