One of the best ways to keep a relationship going is to have a solid foundation of trust with each other. Trusting your partner as much as your partner trusts you somehow needs commitment from both of you. It takes a lot of work – patience and communication and everything else that goes with the relationship.

• To keep the trust in your relationship, it would be good to always tell the truth. It may hurt at times, but at least you have it out in the open instead of having your partner find out later from other sources.

• If you made a promise, do it. Don’t make excuses for not having kept your promise. There may be cases that there are major reasons why you can’t keep your promises, but remember to keep your promises the best you can.

• Be reliable in more ways than one. If you tell your partner that you are going home at a certain time, then be home at that time. Be available whenever your partner needs your help; that would make the bond of trust between you stronger even more.

• Be more open and honest with your partner. Communicate your views and thoughts in a nice way. Show respect to your partner’s views and opinions as well. Discuss possible problems in your relationship, share your feelings and be open-minded enough to accept both of your faults. Remember to clearly communicate your needs and desires and listen to your partner’s wants as well. Make sure you understand each other and let your partner feel that your trust is built on good communication and honesty.

• Be trustworthy yourself. If your partner tells you something in confidence, you don’t tell your family or even your closest friends about it.

A good way to keep trust in your relationship is to have regular bonding times together. This is a good time to talk freely and enjoy each other’s company as well. You can settle differences and discuss solutions. These times are good for making up for lost times and for restoring the love and romance of the relationship.

Just like all relationships – marriage, partnership, personal, friendship and family, the ability to trust another person needs real effort both ways. It needs time and some proof that the other person can be trusted. That is why it is important to remember to be conscious of how trust will be built in your relationship. If you are trusted with something in confidence, then it stays that way. You have to ask permission from that person if you want to share it with another person; exceptions are of course, if some life threatening problems arise from this.

Make it an effort to respect each other’s boundaries. Know when it is the best time to visit or talk to your friends or family; give some respect for their own personal time. Don’t be afraid to ask for their opinions because this would let them know you have confidence in them and that you value their views and ideas. This is a good way to start to build trust among your friends and family too. Aside from all these, believe in yourself that you are a trustworthy person who has earned the trust of people you care about the most.

Jonathan Pitts

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