What Is Trust in a Relationship?
Trust is a virtue that means freedom from suspicion and doubts. It symbolizes the feeling of certainty towards your partner and having the confidence to say that he/she will not do anything to harm you or your relationship.
Many could attest that trust is the basic foundation or “building block” of every relationship. When you choose to commit yourself to a romantic relationship, you are actually entrusting yourself and a part of your life to the other person.
You are investing your feelings with confidence while choosing to believe that they will be reciprocated. Trust cannot be absolutely proven or demanded. It is a choice that people make. It is something that you and your partner should hang on to in order to maintain your relationship.
Trust Is Something That Is Earned Over Time
You cannot have a healthy relationship without trust. However, virtually each one of us can bring to mind a situation where our hearts had been broken by someone whom we trusted.
Trust me when I say that I know exactly what betrayal of trust feels like. It could be as random as discovering that your partner is physically attracted to a co-worker or is secretly checking out one’s social media profile. All of these can easily break trust in a relationship.
What’s more painful about them is that your partner may actually be making conscious efforts to keep them from you.
Trust is difficult to earn but can easily be broken by just a single mistake. It could take years to establish trust in a relationship and sadly, a split second is all it takes to break it.
Betrayal of trust comes in many other forms aside from cheating, lying, and becoming abusive towards your partner. It could also be as harmless as flirting online, checking out other singles in a club, or thinking about someone else while you’re with your partner.
Sometimes, we try to convince ourselves that we’re not actually committing an actual mistake. Still, there are certain thoughts that count as cheating regardless of how harmless they seem to be.
How to Rebuild Trust in a Broken Relationship
Since trust can only be earned over time, the only way to rebuild it is to allow yourself and your partner to heal and to recover. The act of forgiveness is essential in the healing process.
This means giving your relationship the fresh start it deserves and exerting all efforts to understand each other’s weaknesses no matter how difficult it is. It is a choice you have to make and you’re not required to force yourself into it because the process is never easy.
Sometimes, it can be painful and emotionally draining. However, if the love you feel for each other is far stronger than your pride, it may be worth it after all.
Rebuilding trust involves an “all or none” principle because you cannot keep the relationship if you’re not willing to trust your partner. You only have two choices; either you try again or let each other go.
It all boils down to one question; can you live the rest of your life without this person? In my case, I knew I couldn’t make it without my husband and this is the reason why I’ve decided to give him a chance to rebuild the lost trust.
It takes time, energy, and an almost supernatural amount of patience; but I believe that it’s going to be worth it. And as for others who choose to let go of their relationship after the trust had been broken, there’s nothing wrong with that and there’s no need to blame yourself for it;
because, in the end, we all deserve to be happy and to be with someone whom we can really trust and love beyond reason.