Trust is foundational for any relationship, whether business or personal. When trust breaks, a fracture occurs in the relationship. These fractures weaken the foundation of the relationship, with more fractures creating an overall unstable relationship.
If you want to maintain strong relationships, here are three behaviors that help retain a healthy trust and reduce fractures:
1. Match your words and actions
How would you respond to the question, “Which tells the true nature of a person — words or actions?”
Around 99.9% of people I have asked this question to have said, “Actions.” When you say one thing and then do something different, there is a break in trust because you have created dissonance in your behavior that does not ring of authenticity. When your words and actions match, there is not a question of which is your true nature.
See Also: How To Know Which People Truly Care About You
2. Think in terms of no judgment of good or bad, or wrong or right
There is a difference between saying (or thinking)- “That guy is stupid.” versus “I do not care for the way he did that work.” You put barriers in place by trying to determine the value you have to another person and what you believe.
When you assign judgment of good or bad or wrong or right to another individual, you reduce the open ability for other people to be creative and innovative thus stifling the wish to build a relationship with you. It is a subtle difference in thinking that plays a significant role in building trust.
3. Keep the focus on the goal, not the problems
If you have a certain amount of time and energy in your life, then you have to decide where you want that energy to go. Think about how much time you spend talking about how bad something or someone is at work or home. You can either put that time and energy into keeping everyone focused on the goals (happy marriage, work plan, etc…) rather than chipping away at the fractures.
See Also: 6 Reasons Why You’re Still Single
Building trust is an investment in your life and the life of your relationships. If your goal is to maintain healthy relationships, these three behaviors can help cement your relationships and help keep your life’s foundation firm.