2010: Begin Again - Developing Self Trust

Adventures on the Quest – Law of Mind Action

There is a huge trust deficit in society right now. Public trust in business, the media and politicians is currently at historically low levels. Lack of trust has a huge negative impact on society. These are some of the lessons shared by Stephen M.R. Covey in The Speed of Trust and at a presentation Sept. 23 at Lethbridge College.

It was also the focus of my last blog entry, the first of three looking at the elements converging in my life right now. Covey talks about the Five Waves of Trust with the first and most important being self trust.

Self trust plays an important role in the recent exercises I completed as part of The Quest: A Journey of Spiritual Rediscovery. Darren Hutchison, a friend of mine, and I are slowly working through the book. Recently we finished off Chapter 19 – Law of Mind Action. This really gets down to dealing with self trust and how, if we want to change our lives, we need to change our thoughts.

The study helps bring attention to areas we may not otherwise delve into. I’ve been bothered by how I’ve reacted to life and began this year with the intention to, in a way, start things over. Hence the blog – 2010: Being Again.

I’ve come to realize that a lack of self trust can be the biggest obstacle we need to overcome in personal efforts to find the happiness and success we want in life. Paying attention to how we make decisions and what we think can increase awareness of our self trust and help us focus on making needed changes.

Exploring self trust

Adventures on the Quest challenges readers to explore areas of self trust. Three exercises included:

1. Think of your earliest thought about a life-changing experience. Perhaps it was a decision to marry someone or to get a divorce. Maybe it was a decision to change a job or to have a child. Describe how that thought led to your eventual action. Be as detailed as you can.
2. Are you facing a decision now? Write down your thoughts about it.
3. Will these thoughts lead you where you want to go? Explain how they will or will not.

This is the kind of stuff few of us, and by that I mean me, ever undertake. Blissfully, we go through life perhaps not living up to our potential and wondering what’s holding us back. At least, that’s the case for me. What are we listening to? What is impacting our thoughts and, subsequently, our self trust as well as trust in others.

The chapter talks about the impact of the thoughts and messages that bombard us every day. Think about commercials on TV and the radio, and ads on billboards and in newspapers and magazine. All are attempts to influence how you think. And don’t you think that this can affect your self trust? I’d say yup! You betcha!

4. What commercials or advertisement do you disagree with? Name three and list the reasons you disagree with them. For example, maybe you don’t like being told that you must smoke a cigarette or drink a certain beverage to be sophisticated.
5. What popular thinking to you agree or disagree with and why? Perhaps you agree with popular thought about economic good times or bad times. You may agree or disagree with the implications of the news media that we live in a dangerous world.
6. Think about your life. What is your dominant thought about yourself? Write it out.
7. What major shift in your thinking is needed at this point in your life? Be specific in your details.
   

Our thoughts determine our self trust

How we think and what we think of ourselves gets right to the heart of the self trust Stephen Covey talks about. Without that self trust, the first pebble in the pond, the other ripples necessary to reach societal trust can’t happen.

Learn to trust yourself. If that’s an issue for you, how do you overcome it?

Picking up on Covey’s teachings, sometimes we develop a lack of self trust because we make promises we fail to keep. Think about New Years resolutions. How often do people make a decision at the beginning of the year only to see their determination quickly slip away, often before Valentine’s Day?

Hey, wait a moment. That’s me in the mirror! Those resolutions slip sliding away are mine. So, what’s the result?

Repeat it a few times and perhaps subconsciously we begin registering the fact that we can’t even trust ourselves to live up to our own self promises.

Without self trust, the ripples do not expand out to the other waves that need to wash over society and bring about needed change. So, what can we do? Take action to begin growing self trust. Simple steps are the best. Something to which you can commit.

Maybe you’re looking to lose some weight. (Yup, that’s still me in the mirror. Just more of me than I'd like there to be!) How about a promise to walk every day? Live up to that promise if you haven’t before. Prove to yourself that you can be trusted. It’s a small step. But it’s a beginning on which you can build.

So join me. Take that small step. Build your own self trust and let the ripples start to spread.

Next: Self trust. Without it people can come within reach of a dream or goal only to let it slip away. Three Feet from Gold explores the lives of people who had enough self trust to over come obstacles and challenges to attain their goals. Also: A few days ago I shared a special lesson on Facebook - ((P+T) x A x A) + F = ??? I'll share the solution in the next blog entry; the final in this series of three about self trust.

Photos: Adventures on the Quest asks readers to think about their lives and consider what is the framework around which they fill in the details. Think of it like a sculptor who creates a metal frame and fills in the details with clay. What is the key framework for you? The photos capture my framework. Lynda and I took our grandson, JC, down to Indian Battle Park in Lethbridge on Sunday. I’m with the woman I love on multiple levels, she is my best friend, we’re enjoying nature and sharing it with our grandson, thus helping him to appreciate it, too. Top: Lynda and I in a self-portrait at the park. Next: Lynda and JC at the base of Lethbridge's High Level Bridge. Next: JC and I take a look at a garter snake I spotted off to the side of the path. Bottom: Close up of the snake. JC liked him almost as much as I did!