Background information
Trust is the counteragent of fear. When we trust ourselves and others we can increase our sense of safety and reduce our fears.
Relationships rely on mutual trust and giving trust to/ taking responsibility for others. However, also placing trust in others is key to relating, and can deepen the relationship and the experience of being together. A relationship without trust cannot succeed. Trust-building measures can be: communication and exchange, respect, transparency, honesty when dealing with each other, making up of mistakes, taking responsibility and being open to trust others.
Trust in oneself plays and important role in the relationship with oneself. Trusting oneself can expand one’s experiential and agentic capacities, which may lead to being able to overcoming fears. It is important to let and accept pride as a reward of one’s own effort, as pride can strengthen one’s own trust, confidence, self-efficacy, and self-worth.
The goal is to explore one’s behavioural patterns in regards to trust in oneself and others, while also getting to know taking on responsibility (earning trust) and giving over responsibility (giving trust).
Key questions
- Which feeling is contrary to fear?
- Who can I trust?
- Is it easy or hard for you to trust somebody else? What helps to build trust?
- What kind of feeling is it, when somebody trusts you? What can you do to ensure safety to another person?
- How good can you trust/rely on yourself? What might make this easier?
Learning goals
Expanding one’s own possibilities of action through trust.
Giving responsibility away/taking responsibility: Experience of cohesiveness, being together in a relationship (deepening of relationships).
Overcoming fear with pride, a good feeling which should be allowed to be felt (this is the salary at the end of the month, if you don't take it and feel it, you work for nothing), positive influence on self-worth and self-efficacy.
Trust in oneself can help to overcome fear.
