With all relationships, or potential relationships, it is sometimes necessary to take a leap of faith. We interact with people every single day of our lives, in one form or another, and in some instances a certain amount of trust is necessary, even expected (for example during a financial transaction or when receiving treatment from staff at a hospital).

Human beings are not perfect, they make mistakes, all the time. Likewise there are those who deliberately go out of their way to con us, steal our goods and gossip about us. Trusting an individual can be fraught with risk and sometimes that risk is realised and inevitably that bond of trust can be damaged or even broken completely. The trick is to learn from such instances and use the experience gained to equip yourself with the necessary tools to identify potentially similar situations further down the road.

It is never pleasant when a friend or partner abuses our trust, however it is how we deal with the situation, post event, which is important. How often have you heard someone say, after the break up of a particularly turbulent relationship, "I will never trust another man/woman again..."? Obviously this is a ridiculous statement as it tars an entire group of folks with the same brush. Likewise someone who has been ripped off by a financial institution may find it difficult, or even impossible, to trust another again. However by doing so they are hampering their life choices to such an extent it can damage not only them personally but also those around them in some cases.