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Maybe not a subject many people think about, but it’s one I am conscious of and may link to why I am so disciplined with my routine and staying committed to the tasks I set out to do. 

 

 

 

You may wonder what I am talking about, but hear me out. We all have those friends or even partners that promise to go and grab a coffee with us and then cancel last minute, or are consistently late when we meet up with them; maybe you lent them something and they said you would have it back a week later and months have gone by. Whatever it may be, when these things happen consistently, the trust begins to diminish. I am not saying you fall out with this person but you start to realise that they ultimately aren’t that reliable. To the point that when you arrange that next meet you are already waiting for the cancellation message to come through. This isn’t great in a relationship.

I believe this same rule applies to ourselves and the internal conversations and promises we make to ourselves. If I say to myself I am getting up at 04.30 in the morning and choose to press the snooze button and have another hour in bed, I have just been dishonest with myself. Or if I say I will write a blog today and then I don’t do it, I have just in some way lost a bit of trust with myself. You might think these little things aren’t hurting anyone so its ok, or you might think this internal dialogue I am having with myself is a bit harsh. But if we can’t build trust with ourselves, then how can we build it with others?

How do we build the trust then? Just do what you say you are going to do. I understand life can get in the way and things don’t always go to plan, so there definitely has to be a level of forgiveness if we fall short on the tasks we have set out. But ultimately it’s about being true to ourselves.

A prime example is when people start their new diet regimes, maybe they have decided to cut out refined sugar or no takeaways. Then one day they find themselves busy and ill prepared and decide to eat that chocolate bar that’s been sat in the cupboard looking at them all week, or order that Chinese because they didn’t have ‘time’ to cook. Once we break that trust once with ourselves then we open the door to continue to be unreliable. In these cases, the chocolate ends up being two, or leads to the fizzy pop, the takeaway app then offers you a deal on a cheaper desert so you get that as well.

I believe if you want the best relationships with others, ones that are integral, transparent, honest and loving then the relationship you need to be very aware of and work on, is the one with yourself. Nurture it, be honest with yourself, ask yourself the hard questions, don’t let yourself make excuses and turn up on time for you!

Master this relationship and I believe it will give you the grounding to build real authentic relationships with others.

Don’t be afraid to have those tough dialogues with yourself if you want to be able to offer others the best version of you.

Stop pressing that snooze button, do what you set out to do, stick to your word and be accountable for your actions.

How awesome will it be to trust the person you give that to do list to, and that person is you!

 

Resources

 

Be Reliable & Consistent...

Teamwork: Being Reliable...

Trustworthiness & Reliability...

 

 

 

Quote

 

"Trust is built with consisteny.” 

 

 

- Lincoln Chafee

 

Be Reliable and Consistent


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