Saturday, November 21, 2009

Trust

Today, I heard a great definition of trust:

"If I make myself vulnerable to you, you won't leverage that vulnerability to my disadvantage."

When I heard it, I realized that all the people I don't trust in my life--the reason that I don't trust them is that they do NOT give me the above noted assurance that they wouldn't hurt me if I DID trust them.

So what: 

This thought encourages me to be transparent in my dealings.  When people know what my interests are, they can evaluate for themselves whether or not those interests pose a threat to their own.  More importantly, I should consider other people's interests as they relate to my own--always taking care not to create a disadvantage for someone who's trust I care to earn.\

3 comments:

Kam said...

hmm. I have to think about that one. Not sure it applies in all situations, but it's a nice "avenue" of trust, if not a full definition.

I have a stuffy nose, so I have lost some thinking capacity. will mull this over.

Lhone said...

is this like the "what you see is what you get?" Hun, I don't think you could be guarded if you triedl. I can read paragraphs out of a simple winch or glance, and I think everyone else can at least get the gist from your looks. you're pretty transparent.

Karen said...

I would like to comment on this writing, Blaine, but I truly do not understand it. I guess I must have a stuffy nose, too, and must have lost some of (or ALL of) my thinking capacity, like Kam has. :)

But I DO know that I have a hard time concealing MY feelings or thoughts on a subject, so I must be pretty transparent, too. (I'm not sure what that has to do with "trust", though.)

Meanwhile--good to have you writing, my son, while we're here in Tennessee. We're at Kathy's and I'm glad to be able to keep tabs on you guys while we're here having a good "Civil War Excursion" time! Love, Mom