Do we really need to build trust in a relationship?

How difficult is it to trust somebody? How much time does one need to establish a trustworthy relationship? What amount of hard work and dedication is needed to first make and then sustain such a relationship? Do we really need to build trust in a relationship?

We’ll all have our own answers to these questions but have a look at these before you give a definitive answer:

• You are on a vacation to Kerala and you book a night houseboat. It’s a private houseboat that takes you to a secluded place and docks the boat there for the night. Your family and you are at the mercy of the staff of that houseboat. You choose to trust them
• You go for sight-seeing at the highest point of a hill station. The view of the valley is beautiful. To get a good picture, you lean at the railing there. You choose to trust the strength of those railings.
• You overtake cars on the highway. You choose to trust their driving skills.
• You go to your doctor for your child’s vaccination. You choose to trust him in his medical experience and wisdom.
• You go to a parlour for their services. You choose to trust them for the authenticity of their products.
• You sit on an airplane. You choose to trust the pilot.
• You choose to trust the new employer when you accept their job offer.

There are such and more examples from daily life wherein you trust the other person without even knowing or talking to him. Then why is trust considered such a sacred thing to achieve? Why do relationships fall apart due to lack of trust?

Critics would say that the experience erodes trust. If the regular doctor is not able to diagnose this ailment on time, we move to the next. The trust with the previous is broken. There is a plethora of choices and hence jumps from one to the other become easier. But is there a limit to such jumps & shifts- Number of best friends you have had, number of love relationships or maybe even number of employers you have shifted?

Is it lack of trust or a hope to have a better trust with the next one that drives our decision to move from one relationship to the other?

Human psychology is complex and I am no expert in it. However, what I do know and constantly tell myself is-We don’t need to work on building trust in a relationship. It is a by-product of our actions. If we can easily choose to trust complete strangers with our life, then trusting our closed ones should come naturally to us.