sids blog

Trust is the fundamental foundation of all relationships.

If I trust you, then I don’t have to analyze how complicated you are—because you are horribly complicated, like a monkey full of snakes.

But if you break my trust, I have to see you in an entirely different way. I need to reconstruct your image in my mind. I must reform it and reevaluate everything about you in a new light. It’s like snakes pouring out—it becomes total chaos. With the collapse of that image, cooperation is no longer possible. Because I no longer know who you are. And if I don’t know who you are, then I don’t know who I am when I’m with you.

You can trust a dishonest person—if he’s honest about his dishonesty. At least then, you don’t have to second-guess his intentions or try to predict his actions, because you already know they’ll be unpredictable.

Trust is knowing the other person will behave in a way that won’t harm you. You shouldn’t rely solely on people’s words—words are tools of deception. If you can’t trust people’s words, what should you trust then?

The past is a great track record.

Reputation is everything. That’s why you’re supposed to guard it with all you have. People trust you more when you have a good reputation. When you’re known as a crook, no one is going to trust you.

Trust is the real-life equivalent of a CIBIL score. The more your actions align with your words, the higher your score.

So it’s better not to make promises you can’t keep. You could be building trust your entire life, but a single act of betrayal is enough to shatter it completely. As I said, you’re a complicated being, and I take you at your word. If your actions contradict your words, then I can’t trust you.

Once trust is broken, it’s very hard to rebuild. But if it is to be restored, it takes immense effort and a consistent track record of transparency and follow-through.

You don’t want to be in a room with people you don’t trust. Because the absence of trust is not uncomfortable but dangerous.