It's easy to fall in love with a man you don't trust, but it's hard to live with him.
Real, lasting relationships are built on trust. Trust is foundational because it creates a safe environment for intimacy to grow. If your relationship is going to work you need to be able to trust your partner with your past, your present and your future. Trust takes time and effort, is easily broken and hard to restore but if you're willing to work at it, the reward is the relationship you've always dreamed of.
Revealing Your True Self
Trust allows you to reveal who you really are. In spite of all the tricks we use to try and impress someone during the early stages of dating, intimacy is founded on knowing and being known. Your partner has to get to know the real you – what you're like when you're tired, angry, frustrated, elated or talking to your Mom on the phone. He has to love you as you are, not as he hopes you might be. Anything less won't last.
Have you seen or read Bridget Jones's Diary? There's one scene where Mark Darcy tells Bridget "I like you, just as you are." She is floored. Why such a strong reaction to a simple comment? Because Mark is telling her that he really sees her and he likes what he sees. He didn't say he'd like her ten pounds lighter, or a little more sophisticated, or prettier, or better read. He likes her as she is, unconditionally. She doesn't have to try and impress him, he's already impressed. Knowing that you are loved for who you are lets you relax and let your guard down. It lets you be honest without fear of rejection, and frankly, it feels great.
Honest Communication
Trust opens the door to honest communication. You can't communicate honestly if you're always second-guessing how your partner will react and rephrasing your thoughts to fit in with his agenda. Communication takes concentration.
Five steps to effective communication:
- Ask questions. Don't assume you understand what a person means. Once you ask a few questions, it doesn't take long to really find out what he really means.
- Listen. To become a better communicator, you must be willing to listen so you can understand the other person's perspective.
- Observe and be willing to verify the information you receive.
Let people know what you are thinking by sharing it. By disclosing information about yourself, it aids the other person in understanding who you are and how you are understanding them.
Remember that love covers a multitude of sins. If your motives are wanting to understand people and accept them for who they are, then communication will be easier. But if you set out to convince them that your way is the right way, then that's not communication. And that's not love.
