Communication Issues Can Cause Very Painful Experiences
When someone betrays our trust…we usually feel pretty pissed off about it… 
OR we might feel badly hurt and withdraw. Do yourself a favor and don’t stop there. If you want to help make sure that it doesn’t happen to you again then become open to exploring what you can learn about yourself and what choices you made or didn’t make to contribute to this very painful outcome. Your first mission, if you choose to accept it, is to focus on developing your own trustworthy, reliable, accountable relationship with yourself.
In life, when we value ourselves…when we truly respect ourselves then we feel worthy. That is when we KNOW that we have the right to do our due diligence in all of our relationships, whether with a significant other, friend, business professional, co-worker or even the repairman.
Many Issues in Communication Were Learned in Childhood
Many of us have been taught in childhood to trust others or NOT to trust others without any evidence to support either point of view. Because most of us were not given any other choice but to blindly obey our authority figures, we didn’t develop the essential ability to discern when trust is legitimate or not. So now we have the opportunity to learn from the mistakes that were made, resolve our communication issues and to actually learn how to EARN each other’s trust.
Issues In Communication Are Much Less Likely When Trust is Actually EARNED
To avoid getting pulled into communication issues and setting yourself up to be hurt, EVERYONE needs to earn your trust from the very beginning of your relating to them. Giving people the opportunity to EARN your trust BEFORE you give it away is a valuable gift to yourself and to them. Test them first in small, less risky ways and see how trustworthy they actually are.
Become VERY observant. Are they following through with what they say they’re going to do? Listen to how they talk to you. Are they considering how you feel? Do they tell you clearly where they stand? Do they inspire confidence and consider your wants too, or are they only focused on what they want? Do they demonstrate openness so that you believe they have nothing to hide? Are they willing to work with you to resolve any issues in communication that come up along the way? Are you creating healthy boundaries between you with mutual respect? Are you demonstrating positive reliability between you?
The answers to these questions will help to reveal what actions need to be taken for real trust to be strengthened. New skills and support may be required to successfully resolve your communication issues so you can create the fulfilling relationships that you deserve. This is living the authentic life!