Trust generally is the act of placing confidence and being able to depend on someone or something. Trust is necessary for relationships, corporate bodies and the society to function and for any person to be relatively happy. Without trust, fear sets in.

Trust is a matter of degree, and certain life experiences can impact a person’s ability to trust others. The issue of trust and relationships focuses on the question of whether the partners are faithful and honest enough to one another.

Being able to trust your partner is the most important part of a being in a relationship. Trust is said to be the foundation of every relationship from which a strong connection can be built. Without trust in a relationship, relationships won’t grow and progress to a deeper level.

Here are a few tips on how to build trust between you and your partner;

1. Communicate effectively

Communication is an important factor in building trust between partners in a relationship. Partners should communicate their problems instead of sitting on them and brooding. When it comes to communication, do it face to face. A personal verbal communication strengthens the bond between partners in a relationship.

Don’t decide to communicate over emails or phone calls, but instead make it more personal and direct. While communicating, make sure you keep an eye contact with your partner as researchers have found out that making frequent eye contact during a discussion strengthens the bond of partners.

2. Don’t keep secrets from each other

Trust needs openness and honesty. If you are planning on building trust in a relationship, you must not plan to keep secrets and be open with your partner. To be a trustworthy partner, you must be honest in all your dealings and conversations with your partner.

Secrets break up relationships extremely fast, so it is essential to be honest and upfront about issues that arise together or individually. Having an open mind towards your partner helps him or her to share his or her deep dark secrets which is a sign that he or she trusts you.

3. Learn to say no

It is not everything that your partner wants is what you are willing and able to provide. You don’t have to say yes every time to everything your partner wants or proposes to do. If you don’t like something he or she proposes to do, simply say no. You shouldn’t be subjected to a relationship. You shouldn’t be forced to endure what you don’t like. When a relationship is based on equality, it will be easier for both of you to move forward.

Don’t pander to the whims of your partner just to make him or her happy, as it will ruin the relationship.

4. Set boundaries

Having clear boundaries set together is essential to building trust amongst partners. Setting boundaries helps in explaining how much space you’re comfortable with, in a relationship, emotionally or physically.

Boundaries can be about all sorts of things: how much time you need alone, how comfortable you are telling other people about your relationship and so on. Having an understanding of one another’s boundaries is helpful when it comes to building trust in the relationship.

5. Don’t make promises you cannot keep

Always keep your promises!!! Keep your words and your promises. If you promised your partner that you are going to do something, make sure you do it.

It makes much sense that we want to keep promises we have made to our partner, but often the little things you promised get overlooked. Keeping your promises about little things is as important as keeping your promises about the big things.

When you are late, call your partner and explain what is holding you down, remember to pick up those items from the grocery store and remember to pay the bills on time. While these things look small and it might be overlooked, they go a very long way towards building trust in a relationship.

6. Do not cheat on your partner

It is in the natural composition of humans to be attracted to more than one person. But this does not warrant you to cheat on your partner. Even if you are bored of the relationship, spunk it up or else walk out of it. You should not cheat on your partner because he/she is not fun to be with or you do not enjoy his or her company anymore. To build trust in a relationship, make sure you tell your partner clearly that you’re not happy with the way things are between the two of you, and sort it out, or else, walk out of the relationship.

7. Take Responsibility for your actions

Own up to your behaviours, actions and inactions, don’t try to shift the blame to a circumstance or someone else. Be honest with yourself and to your partner as to why you made your decisions, actions and inactions.