The 6 stages of trust in every relationship

Trust is the foundation of every healthy relationship. We treat trust like it’s a mystical, undefinable concept, but it’s actually very concrete. I believe this simple explanation of the process of building trust can be a helpful tool for you to measure the current trust in your relationship and also to understand how to take trust to a deeper level. Stronger trust always creates stronger relationships.

TRUST defined: “Trust is a choice to be available, vulnerable and transparent in a relationship, because the person you’re trusting has proven worthy of your partnership through consistency in their honesty, integrity and dependability.”

Based on this simple definition of trust, we see that trust is much more than a gut feeling or a blind faith in someone. It’s merit-based. For this reason, trust is completely different than love and forgiveness. Love and forgiveness can’t be earned (only given freely), but trust can’t be given freely; it must be earned. Trust is the only vital part of a relationship that must be earned. We don’t have to trust someone in order to love or forgive them, but love and forgiveness are vital to allowing trust to have the opportunity to be rebuilt when it’s been broken.

Here’s how trust works in every relationship. These are the Six Stages of Trust. Understanding these will help you strengthen your relationships…