Trust means believing and having faith that a person is capable of acting correctly. It can be measured based on actions and values, while credibility is the ability to generate trust.
Creating and earning trust from others—or having the confidence to take on daily challenges—remains one of the biggest concerns in the modern world, which is increasingly divided and distrustful, yet also more in need of generating reliable conditions and environments for social, economic, and political relationships among citizens and nations.
Trust, beyond its philosophical and spiritual meaning, is believing with certainty in a version of the truth, in skills, or in a purpose.
Though it may seem simple, achieving the necessary trust in oneself or others is a complex process that requires consistency between the principles and values one grows up with and the attitudes adopted in daily interactions.
Trust and credibility are closely linked.
Generally, those who generate greater credibility are the ones in whom people place the most trust, entrusting them with important challenges, decisions, and opinions.
In the political sphere, earning the trust of voters is ultimately the biggest challenge for politicians aspiring to govern a state.
Every number in a credibility poll is also a vote of confidence that should not end in disappointment.
The line between trust and its opposite—distrust—is fragile and reveals the vulnerability of human beings when relating to one another and wielding power.
There are leaders who overstep their bounds and act so confidently—not in their abilities, but in what they can achieve with the power entrusted to them—that it spirals out of control, leading them to fall into levels of corruption and political inconsistency that cause them to lose all credibility.
The greatest threat to trust is lying, which is the most compelling evidence of inconsistency between principles, ideas, and actions.
Of course, when the truth is revealed over a lie, trust collapses, and credibility vanishes as if it never existed.
It’s no wonder the popular saying goes that when trust is broken, it’s like porcelain—it can be restored, but it will never be the same.
What is confirmed in the social realm is that the first step to generating trust is trusting yourself—believing in it, as the saying goes.
Those who don’t believe in themselves and have gaps in their self-esteem will always look for tricks to gain attention and earn the trust of others.
Trust is a value we are born with, and everyone has the ability to strengthen it.
There is no instruction manual for earning the trust of others, nor can it be found or achieved through social media likes.
Fortunate is the one who has never been disappointed for trusting what they shouldn’t have, or whom they shouldn’t have, or for believing in or failing in their potential, skills, or purpose.
The important thing is to keep going—we must continue trusting and giving new opportunities so the world doesn’t become even more unlivable than it already seems.
By: Omaira Martínez Cardona – Colombian Journalist oma66co@gmail.com
Image: Pl
