Why Trust Isn't An Amazon Prime Package

TRUST.

Bam. Did that word just hit you like the unexpected plot twist in your favourite TV show? What rushes through your mind? Warm, fuzzy feelings, or a cold sweat remembering times when trust felt more like a betrayal?

Who has made it into your Circle Of Trust? Is it a VIP list shorter than the ingredients in organic peanut butter, or are you doling out trust like those free Costco samples, hoping for a taste of loyalty in return?

And to go even deeper, how do people earn your trust? And let’s not forget the mirror reflection - how do you score on the trustworthiness scale? Ever found yourself on the wrong side of a trust fall, leaving someone in the lurch?

TRUST. So simple, yet so loaded.

Flashback to 2012 when trust was my mantra, my theme song during the soul-searching saga known as yoga teacher training. It followed me around California like a shadow, popping up in places I least expected. Trust. What was GUS (God, Universe, Source) trying to tell me?

Before that, I lived and breathed in the world of event planning, where control was not just a strategy but a survival technique. Every detail, every plan, every movement had to be locked down tighter than Alcatraz. It was about controlling the timing, the environment, the people, and everything in between so that we could predict what would happen down to the minute. And when things went invariably astray, we had Plan B, C, and D at the ready. Case in point, while doing an event at an Ice Hotel that was literally melting, I executed Plan F (we got t-shirts made for our international guests to celebrate that we survived the great Ice Hotel melt of 2010 :).

Then came yoga, throwing me headfirst into the deep end of the Trust Pool. Suddenly, it wasn’t about controlling every breath and movement; it was about letting go and trusting the flow. Because control is a myth, a fairy tale. What we have to build is trust - our bridge over life's uncertain waters.

So, how do you build trust?

Well, it isn't those movie-moment rescues or grand declarations. It’s found in the quiet, steadfast acts of showing up, day in and day out. It’s the everyday proof that says, “I’ve got your back,” even when the chips are down.

And, most importantly, it all starts with the person in the mirror. Me. You. Us.

Doing the things we said we're going to do. Honouring the boundaries we set for ourselves. Being reliable and accountable to ourselves first, like when we say we're going to go to the gym in the morning, we actually do it. Then we focus and sustain that over time until it becomes a habit. Choose. Focus. Sustain.

Trust is also about the power of surrender and of letting go. Because as much as we’d like to think we can control the uncontrollable. Make the uncertain, certain. We eventually need to lean into the power of something that will help ease our worried minds … and trust is that path.

Trust is your relationship to the unknown.

It isn't an Amazon Prime package - it doesn't arrive overnight. It's a slow (and annoying) build. This concept is beautifully exemplified in this video by these two wildly talented performers from Cirque du Soleil below. They talk about how they built their trust in each over time.

Trust me (see what I did there?), diving into the deep end of trust can be the best kind of plot twist - you never see it coming, but it's exactly what you need.