How to Regain Broken Trust

Trust is a difficult thing to gain and once you lose it, some say it is impossible to regain. While lies, betrayal and broken promises are painful, they don't always have to be the end of a relationship. There may be some situations where broken trust simply cannot be regained. If the betrayal was too large or the betrayed person unwilling to forgive, nothing you can do will ever make up for it.

The wounds we gain from being hurt by those that we love, admire and trust run deep and they are not easy to get over. These wounds sometimes shake the very foundation upon which a relationship was built and threaten to destroy the relationship forever. However, there are some situations both in personal and professional relationships where you may be able to regain the trust you have lost due to a poor decision or action. So, how can you regain broken trust?

Rebuilding Trust

The first thing you need to know about rebuilding trust is that you cannot change or "fix" the other person. You can't make them feel a certain way about you or force them to see things your way. They may be going through something in their lives that makes it more difficult for them to give you a second chance or their wounds from your betrayal may be so strong that they are not ready to forgive and forget. Patience will go a long way if you are serious about regaining their trust.

One of your first steps will be to learn why you lost the trust of the person in the first place. You can then take the proper steps to prevent this from happening again. Don't waste time trying to over explain or justify why you did what you did to lose the trust. Instead you have to focus on the future and changing the way they feel about your credibility.

Here are some tips:

Apologize - Offer an apology as soon after the offense as possible. Be sincere with your apology.

Increase your credibility- Are you dependable? Do you do what you say you will do?

Don't break promises - It's important to remember not to make promises that you will not be able to keep as this will make you appear untrustworthy.