Basic Trust

Where does trust come from? Is it something that is built? Is it something that we just have? Can trust be strengthened or diminished? By what?

I was musing about that the other day as trust seems to be a sticking point in many areas of our world. Do we trust our politicians? Do we trust our condo boards? Do we trust our neighbours? Do we trust the other drivers on the road?

And it seems to me thusly... we all start with a basic level of trust. We have to... otherwise we wouldn't leave the house. We would stay inside, in our basement bunker, shivering in fear. We have a basic trust as we leave our driveway that the other drivers out there are going to drive responsibly. We have a basic trust that politicians aren't going to run our country into the ground. We have a basic trust that our bank manager isn't going to embezzle our money.

Now, having said that... once we are out there... our trust metre can either go up or go down. If we say a driver weaving erratically down the road, our trust level goes down. If we see them run a red light and narrowly avoid a collision, our trust level goes down even further. And once it's down there, it will take quite a bit for that trust to be rebuilt.

If we repeatedly experience a lowering of trust with one particular person, then that trust might never be rebuilt. If someone is repeatedly late for meetings or appointments... our trust goes down. And re-building that trust can take quite a bit. It's very easy to lose trust... much harder to regain it.

Conversely, if our trust level increases over time.. as someone demonstrates that they are consistent and worthy of trust, then there might even be a bit of room for a misstep here and there. Once in a while is one thing though... over and over again is another thing.

Which makes me consider... how trustworthy am I?