Trust Fund

It takes forever to earn it, and you can lose it all within a second. No, not money. Trust. Trust is one of the most important aspects of any relationship. Whether it be a romantic relationship, friendship, work, etc. Trust is the foundation of anything you are trying to build interpersonally and even within yourself. Until you trust and believe in yourself it will be quite difficult to trust others. And if you can't trust yourself, how can someone else be expected to trust you? The most effective way to build trust with others is to live every day as if you're trying to earn your own trust, because you'll always be watching. It doesn't seem like anyone ever talks about that, or even sees it that way. You're always told to treat others as you'd like to be treated but you can't control the actions of others. Why not treat others the way you would want to treat yourself? Live up to your own expectations of dealing with people. Expect to get in return no more than what you put out. If you're not completely honest with others, they don't always know. But you do. You're the one who has to live with every move you make. The camera is always rolling. So if you aren't 100% honest with yourself, don't expect that from anyone else. How can you expect someone to treat you better than you treat yourself? Never respect a man who doesn't respect his word. In a way, it's all you have. Word is bond. Trust and respect go hand in hand. Which goes back to trust being the foundation of interpersonal relationships. Trust and respect breed loyalty, which is a necessity among those close to you. But it's a very fragile balance because as stated earlier, as long it takes to build trust, it can be lost in an instant. You never actually finish building trust, it's ongoing. Ziad K. Abdelnour stated "Trust is earned, respect is given, loyalty is demonstrated. Betrayal of any one of those is to lose all three". Maybe that risk is what scares people. Some may see it as, if I can work to build something for that long and lose it all instantly, why build it? Or maybe some people just don't trust themselves enough to trust others. Either way, I'm just really not sure when it became cool to say "I don't trust anyone". People say that proudly and wear it as some sort of badge of honor as if that isn't tragic. That's not a good thing. If you don't have anyone you can trust, you don't have anyone you can count on. Which is crucial seeing as it's much tougher to do this whole "life" thing alone. I really do pity anyone who feels they have no one they can trust because I can't even imagine. Personally, I don't know what I'd do without the people closest to me. Intentionally not trusting others to prevent yourself from being betrayed is like stabbing yourself in the ribs so that no one can stab you in your back. It's important to have people around you who you can be sure have your best interests in mind. The vital step is finding those people, and building that trust. Wale once said "You know that balance a b***h, cause who's on your back or who's got your back, I promise the line is this thin". But it all comes back to how you treat yourself. If you keep it real with yourself and others, you're likely to attract those who will keep it real with you as well. Trust is like a bank. You can only get out, what you put in. 

                                                                                 -Swaggy T