How to be More Trusting

Trust is an important quality. People who are very distrusting tend to be controlling, insecure, overly suspicious of others, prone to anxiety, unable to take risks, etc. People who are more trusting on the other hand tend to be less controlling, less insecure, less prone to anxiety, etc.

The problem is that it is actually very difficult to be trusting. People understandably view being trusting as a bit naive. Even though many might think that being trusting is naive, the benefits of trust speak for themselves. If you are a trusting person you will be a better person and will live a better life.

An important and helpful factor to be able to take steps towards becoming more trusting is the belief that the world is my benefactor. If I believe the world is my benefactor, I can trust the future to provide me with what I need, which helps unlocking life. If I think the world is out to get me, I will be distrustful of everything. But I can choose differently. I can view the world as being on my side.

Don’t get me wrong, I will continue to save some of the money I earn for worse times and retirement, and I will continue to maintain our house and other possessions I have. But, after accepting the world as my benefactor, I will not need to plan as much ahead and not as detailed as before, to allow more of….well, I guess LIFE to happen. Scary? A bit. Exciting? Absolutely!

I can give an example of this. I just came back home to Sweden after almost a month in Johannesburg. Before going, very little was planned compared to what I am used to. I knew that I had somewhere to stay the first couple of days, even if I didn’t know much about it, and I knew I would take part in the Personal Excellence Program after that…but I didn’t know where that would be, how I would get there, what I would do afterwards or where I then would stay. It all unfolded beautifully, though, and I had a wonderful time together with wonderful, generous people.

The thing is, that if I had tried to plan everything up front, it would both have been very difficult and also probably not turned out as well, as I wouldn’t have been able to adjust to possibilities that turned up along the way.

Think of the exercise where people stand in a circle, surrounding one blindfolded person who’s task it is to fall in any direction and trust his/her friends to catch him/her. If the person in the middle trusts the process and the surrounding people, it will be easier for them to do their job well and catch their friend. However, if he/she does not trust the process and takes a check step, this makes it much more difficult! It may lead to a clumsier catch, or perhaps even a miss, thus “proving” to the person in the middle that he/she was right – this situation and these people are clearly not to be trusted.

It seems as if by planning too much ahead, it is as if you take a “check step”, making it more difficult for the world to come to you in all its beauty and abundance.

Trusting the future is like being blindfolded and surrounded by friends who are there to catch you; it is good to see to that you have a suitable surrounding with trustworthy friends, but apart from that it is best to trust the process and let the world come to you. Not only will you probably get a better result, it also gives you the chance to see things as they are, as you rest your attention on each moment instead of focusing on fulfilling a plan