OWN YOUR TRUTH IN ORDER TO BE TRUSTED

Daily Affirmation

I’m living my purpose and passion

When I speak about owning your truth, I’m referring to your instincts, beliefs, and God-given intuitions. When you are consistent with your thoughts and actions, other people see you as trustworthy. Learning how to own your truth comes from your own sense of self-worth.

When you have feelings, put those feelings into words. Say what you mean at the time you feel it so that it can be dealt with then, not stuck in your head as a rumination that goes around and around like a broken record. So many times, we assume others know what we’re thinking or feeling as if we’ve told them those things out loud. We shouldn’t expect people to be able to read our minds or assume that they know how we’re feeling at that moment.

Personally, I’m a very sensitive and empathetic person who easily picks up on and responds to what others are sensing and feeling. That led me to have a very confined childhood and has created even more difficult for me as an adult. My assumption that others would as easily be aware of and responsive to my needs without my having to ask for what I needed out loud—caused me to continually feel disappointed and unloved.

Feeling unloved or disappointed in how I was treated prevented me from asking for what I needed or wanted out of a fear of not being accepted. This fear also caused me to not be able to say when I felt hurt. However, this unwillingness to express me openly was a form of dishonesty and manipulation. Because I wasn’t owning what when they’re founded on hidden dishonesty.

Honesty breeds trust. Are you seen by others as honest and trustworthy? Do you trust others? Do you trust yourself? You won’t trust others if you can’t trust yourself to be honest, and you can’t be honest with yourself if you don’t know who you are and what you want. If you’ve only been doing what others ask or expect of you, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to identify and get in touch with your honest wants and needs.

If you feel that you’re not trusted by others, it may be because you haven’t been following through on your promises. Even small promises that aren’t kept can cause people to perceive you as untrustworthy. Not following through when you’re a people-pleaser is typically due to exhaustion from trying to be what you think others need while ignoring or not knowing what you need.

Here are some examples you may not have associated with trust, but which can undermine others’ perceptions of your trustworthiness:

• Not calling someone back after you said you would.

• Doing the things you say you don’t do, such as texting while driving, gossiping, or passing blame.

• Committing to be there for a friend or organization, then failing to follow through with your commitment.

• Being perpetually late.

It’s hard to live up to all the pressure to be what you think everyone wants and needs in all situations, especially because it often results in your extending yourself beyond your capabilities. Something will eventually have to give, and when it does, you’ll be seen as untrustworthy.