How does this riddle pertain to you:?
If you have me, you want to share me.
If you share me, you don't have me.
What am I?
Spoiler’s alert, don’t read on if you don’t want the answer quite yet.
The answer: A secret.
Secrets....we have all had one at some point. Albeit sometimes necessary, being asked to keep one is a sign that someone has a certain level of trust in your ability to keep it. Now it’s your choice to decide to reciprocate that trust or to put that relationship in jeopardy.
What makes us trust some and not others? Perhaps we have divulged a little bit of information and in turn they have kept it confidential. Or is it a “gut feeling”, you know she just seems trustworthy. Long relationships give you the vantage point of seeing someone’s past behaviors and relying on that to tell you if they could keep a secret or not.
It is especially hard when you have entrusted a bit of trust to someone and that courtesy was not returned. However, starting that process to find someone you can trust is essential to moving forward in life, whether it is professionally or personally.
Trust...every type of relationship needs it to succeed: marriages, families, friendships, employer/employee, teams, communities.
Challenge:
If you commit to something this week, follow through. It can be as simple as when people say “you know I should introduce you to my colleague Sue.” (We’ve all heard it and never meet that person) Do it! Connect the dots and make it happen. It’s called following through and goes a long way to building trust. If you promise your kids, “sure, we can have game night sometime this week.” Teach them you not only talk the talk, but walk the walk, make it happen!