Exercising our Trust Muscles
Trusting God, Trusting Yourself, Being Trustworthy, Trusting Others
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On one of our Thin
for Life Chats, we were talking about the subject of trust. One of
the members made the statement that we need to "Exercise our trust
muscles". That was a powerful statement. We exercise our bodies by
exercise. We exercise our minds by reading. We exercise our trust by
trusting. As hard as it is for some to exercise their bodies, for others
to read or learn new information, nothing seems harder for some than to
trust. Because it can be hard to trust, some do not work any harder on
trusting as some do with exercising or reading.
Just as there are excuses for exercising or
learning something new, there are plenty of excuses why we do not trust
God, ourselves, or others. Some may even be legitimate. Just like we may
have legitimate reasons why we do not exercise. However, the reality is
that we can at least take some small steps to exercise our body no matter
how obese we may be or how unhealthy we may be. In the same way no matter
how wounded we may have been by others, or how much we have failed in the
past, we can take baby steps to trust others and ourselves.
So, let's start taking some baby steps
towards trust. There is a bunch of material here, so just read small
portions and come back to this page. Only read what you can accept and
absorb at the moment. But don't quit. Just because it may be hard to
trust, that is not a reason to stop exercising the trust muscles.
What Does Trust Have to Do With Weight Loss
If a person has trust issues, they are going to have a harder time
trusting the Thin for Life philosophy. If
they trusted other diets/weight loss programs and they did not work, they
will question Thin for Life. If other diet
programs were all about selling drugs, supplements, books, and making
money, then members with trust issues will think that every time we
suggest a product that will help them, we are just trying to make money
off of them.
Members who have trust issues may not trust
us when we give them advice. They may not trust us when we say a certain
benefit is critical for effective weight loss. They may get offended
easily and reject wise counsel. They may not be receptive to other
members.
Premises Regarding Trust
We are first going to establish some premises regarding the topic
of trust. We will be using several quotes to support our premises. It
would be good to post some of these quotes around your house to remind you
to "exercise your trust muscles".
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Premise 1-We cannot trust our selves, be
trustworthy, or trust others unless we first trust God.
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Premise 2-Once we can trust God, we can
start to trust our selves
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Premise 3-Once we trust ourselves, we will
start living a life of being trustworthy
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Premise 4-Once we are trustworthy, we can
believe others are capable of being trustworthy
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Premise 5-We will get hurt when we trust
Premise 1-Trusting God
Having chosen our course, without guile and with pure purpose, let us
renew our trust in God, and go forward without fear and with manly
hearts. - Abraham Lincoln
There is no fear when we are able to trust God to help us trust.
I have four things to learn in life: to
think clearly without hurry or confusion; to love everybody sincerely; to
act in everything with the highest motives; to trust in God
unhesitatingly. - Albert Schweitzer
When we can trust God, we can do the above.
Only by trusting in God can a man
carrying responsibility find repose. - Dwight D. Eisenhower
Repose means to rest. Only when we trust in God can we rest in the
fact that we are capable of trusting ourselves and others.
Faith in God is like believing a man can
walk over Niagara Falls on a tightrope while pushing a wheelbarrow. Trust
in God is like getting into the wheelbarrow! To believe God can do
something miraculous is one thing; to risk his willingness to do it in
your life is another. - James C. Dobson
Can you trust God while going on the journey to trust yourself and
others?
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your paths straight. - Proverbs 3: 5-6
If we trust in God He will lead us to the people we can trust.
All I have seen teaches me to trust the
Creator for all I have not seen. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Nature itself reveals there is a God, and if there is a God, he is all
powerful and can help us to be able to trust.
Blessed is the man who trusts in the
Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the
water that sends out its roots by the stream. - The Bible, Jeremiah 17:7,8
NIV
When we trust in God, we can have strength to walk in a state of trusting
ourselves and others.
Fear of man is a dangerous trap, but to
trust in God means safety. - the Bible, Proverbs 29:25 TLB
We cannot always trust ourselves and people, but we can always trust God.
Our safety is not in fearing people, but in trusting God. When we really
trust God, we will not be as wounded by people who may be untrustworthy.
Summary
Once we are able to trust God, we can goes to the next step of trusting
ourselves. If we do not trust God, we need to understand He really is on
our side, not matter what has happened in the past. God is trustworthy.
Premise 2-Trusting Yourself
Confidence is that feeling by which the mind embarks in great
and honorable courses with a sure hope and trust in itself. -Cicero
When we trust ourselves we can go down the honorable course of trusting
others.
We do not believe in ourselves until
someone reveals that deep inside us is valuable, worth listening to,
worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we
can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that
reveals the human spirit. - E.E. cummings
This quote could be worded better, but what it says is very powerful.
We need to surround ourselves with people who believe in us. People who
tells us we have value and worth. People who see our failures and yet
believe in us. People who will speak truth to us. This helps us to believe
in ourselves-to trust ourselves. Once we are able to do that we can risk
trusting others. If no one else believes in use, God does!
To Trust yourself is to test your limits. That is the courage to
succeed. - Bernard Edmonds
For some to trust themselves really does take courage. To trust
themselves to follow through on what they say they will do. To trust
themselves to be a person of integrity. They key is Premise 1. If we trust
God, we can trust Him working in us. If He is working in us, He will make
us trustworthy.
Summary
We will never trust others if we do not trust our self. So, we need to
do things that will help us to succeed long enough to believe in our self.
We need to believe in ourselves. We need to know that God believes in us,
so we can believe in ourselves.
Premise 3-Being Trustworthy
To be trusted is always greater a
compliment than to be loved. - George Marshall
When we know that someone trusts us, we feel loved. If we feel loved, we
can risk loving others by trusting them. We love ourselves when we are
trustworthy.
No virtue is more universally accepted as a
test of good character than trustworthiness. - Harry Emerson Fosdick
It should be our highest goal to be people of integrity regardless of
how others live or how they treat us.
The glory of friendship is not the
outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile nor the joy of companionship; it
is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that
someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him. - Ralph Waldo
Emerson
When we understand how good it feels when others trust us, we should
want to let others feel that joy by trusting them.
Premise 4-Trusting Others
Few things can help an individual more than to place responsibility on
him, and to let him know that you trust him. - Booker T. Washington
Does it feel good to be trusted by others? Then be willing to also
trust others.
Don't get older; get better: Live
realistically. Give generously. Adapt willingly. Trust fearlessly. Rejoice
daily. - Charles R. Swindoll
How do you trust fearlessly? By trusting God. Then you can trust Him
to protect you as you trust others.
Fear secretes acids; but love and trust are
sweet juices. - Henry Ward Beecher
The opposite of trust is fear. When we do not trust others who can be
trusted, we hurt them. Fear secrets bitterness, unforgiveness,
resentments, judgments, inflicts pain on others.
It is more shameful to distrust our friends
than to be deceived by them. - La Rochefoucauld
If a person is truly a friend we will trust them. Even if it seems that
they are against us. We will give them the same benefit of a doubt as we
want them to give to us. We are willing to be wounded by friends.
Summary
If we exercise our trust muscles with God and ourselves, we will be
willing to exercise them with others. Fear is the number one hindrance in
being able to trust others.
Premise 5-We Will Get Hurt
If we trust people, we will get hurt at times. The key is to use
wisdom regarding who we trust. This will lessen the amount of times we
will be hurt by others. But no matter what we do, we will be hurt by
others we trust. Why? Because we hurt others at times even though we
desire to be trustworthy. That is the nature of man. We all fall short.
So, what do we do when others hurt us. We
forgive them. Why? Because God forgives us. Unless we forgive others, we
will not be forgiven. When we have been untrustworthy and regret it, we
expect others to forgive us-so we should do the same.
We cannot let the fear of being hurt stop
us from trusting. If we do, we will not exercise our trust muscles.
Forgiveness is a whole other topic. Many
times those who are overweight have unforgiveness in their heart. We will
cover this topic at some point.
Things you can do as Thin for Life members to exercise our trust
muscles
1. Use the Discussion Board to share your thoughts, fears,
struggles, victories, etc. How about going on the Discussion Board right
now and sharing about this report. Share
Comments
2. Be willing to chat with other members in
the chat rooms. It is a safe way to exercise your muscles. They do not
know your last name, your address, etc. You can choose how vulnerable and
open you are with them. You can read what others share to help you build
courage to share also.
3. Be really bold and do a web blog. Share your journal
with others. This will really help you to be a faithful, trustworthy
person. You are more liking to do something if you said you would do it in
your blog. As you share your struggles, others will understand they are
not alone. This will encourage them to be more vulnerable and allow more
communication among members, which helps to build trust.
Is Thin for
Life safe?
We cannot guarantee that every member is trustworthy. Here is what
we can say. So far, we have not had any problems with members be
judgmental, condemning, harsh, unkind, or trying to take advantage of
another member. In fact, our members have been very caring, understanding,
encouraging, respectful, and supportive. If we have a member who violates
our policies, they will be suspended.
At times members may challenge you. As the
administrator I will certainly challenge you at times. Always try to see
the challenges are done out of love and to help you to take the next step.
If you could lose weight on your own, you would not have signed up as a
member. Remember the quote we say over and over again-'many people are
desperate but not determined'. When you are determined to succeed at
weight loss, you will not see challenges as offensive, but as helpful. And
yes, I or a member may say something that hurts you. You may say something
that hurts us. Just like it hurts to exercise at times, it will hurt to
trust at times. We do not stop exercising just because we get sore. So,
don't quit trusting just because you get hurt at times.
So, go ahead and get started at exercising
your trust muscles.
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