As a relationship gets older, trust is often times misplaced or misunderstood. Most times because of the fact that majority of us before getting into a relationship do not take out time to know how much trust means to you and your partner and we also do not take out time to communicate our expectations in the relationship to one another.
Before you can build trust it is important to take out time to know the mindset your partner is bringing into the relationship or the expectations he has concerning the relationship. When these have been achieved trust becomes easier to build.
Here are 8 ways to build trust in your relationship.
- Trust is Earned: do not assume that trust already exists in your relationship rather constantly work to earn it by being conscious of our actions and how it affects the people we care about.
- Keep Secrets: this doesn’t mean keeping secret from your partner rather it means keeping it for them. Keep your personal conversations at home only bring it up if he/she initiates the conversation.
- Don’t Judge: your opinion on something’s may be different from that of your partner but this doesn’t mean you should judge him/ her. The fact that it is important to your partner is all that matters. Before you can build trust in a relationship you must respect your differences without being judgmental.
- Keep your Promises: it is important to keep promises in a relationship. When you are unable to fulfill a promise that has been made do not fail to apologize and make amends.
- Communicate openly and in Person: Make it a point of duty to communicate important issues in person with your partner not via chats, calls or messages because the true meaning of your message can be lost and may also aggravate the situation at hand.
- Become Vulnerable: Do not play safe in your relationship if you want to build trust rather allow yourself to be vulnerable. Be real with your partner that means sharing things that you often keep hidden. The ultimate sign of trust is living your truth and by doing so your partner will be more comfortable living theirs.
- Disagree behind closed doors: Disagreeing with your partner in public can shame or humiliate him/her. It is healthier to voice your disagreement at home in a respectful way allowing both parties have their ego intact.
- Forgive: there is no such thing as a perfect person we all are bound to make mistakes. Do not hesitate to forgive your partner when he/ her does something wrong and try not to hold on to past transgressions. Letting go of the hurt, accepting the apology and moving on builds a trust based on truth and love.
