The C.A.T. Principle – Global Ebook Awards GOLD & SILVER Winner for Best Self-Help Non-Fiction Ebook of 2014 & 2016

To Trust or Not to Trust?

“To be or not to be?” was Hamlet’s famous question in Shakespeare’s play by the same name, but really, shouldn’t it have been “To trust or not to trust?”

We live in a society, where there seemingly is more transparency than ever, but somehow, and correct me if I’m wrong, there seems to be a greater lack of trust than ever. A day doesn’t go by when we don’t hear about some con artist taking some naive person for the ‘proverbial’ ride; when we don’t hear about parents fearing for their children walking to school; and when we don’t hear about a spouse becoming another victim of a cheat.

At times, it seems that we’ve become a world awash in distrust. We’ve become accustomed to hearing scandals about politicians, bankers, doctors, teachers or anyone else in a position of trust. Once considered among the noblest of professions, these are now often treated with a dose of skepticism and doubt. Where once trust was a given; now it must be earned. A degree or diploma on the wall no longer suffices, but rather a person’s actions and deeds speak louder than ever. Is this a bad thing? I think not, for trust without verification can be a disaster waiting to happen. However at the same time, we must remember to keep things in perspective.

Are there swindlers out there? You bet! Are there cheating spouses out there? You bet! Are there sneaky, conniving, under minding people working and living among us? You bet! In fact, I would bet that every single person reading this, has, at one time or another, encountered his or her fair share of treachery and deceit at the hands of some sophisticated, or not so sophisticated, morally decrepit and bankrupt person. But let’s face it; is it really as bad as we perceive it to be? I think not, and here’s why.

It’s not as bad because North American society overwhelmingly functions, and functions well. It’s because the overwhelming majority of people, whatever their background, wherever they come from, are honest, hard-working, decent people, who are simply trying to make a better life for themselves and their families. As a result, things get done. The buses run, the trucks transport and the planes fly. Food is abundant and the streets are awash in cars with people going to and fro, carrying out their daily chores.

Without trust, none of this would be possible. It’s that simple. We would have breakdown in every facet of life and nothing would work. Only chaos and anarchy would rule. Does this mean that we don’t have problems and challenges? Absolutely not, because to live is to have problems and challenges – there’s no getting around it.

Naturally, we must always strive to do better, and we will, so long as trust permeates our society. And that’s the crux of the matter. Trust is the foundation for everything we do, and as such, we must always guard against those thriving on distrust and deceit, leaving nothing but a culture of chaos and dysfunction in their wake.

It was the Irish philosopher Edmund Burke (1729-1797) who said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is when good men do nothing.”

So to trust we must, but to be on guard against those who would have otherwise, so must we also.

For more, check out The C.A.T. Principle: Change, Action, Trust – Words to Live By, a Global Ebook Awards GOLD Winner for Best Self-Help Non-Fiction Ebook of 2014, available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. See the latest Amazon reviews here. Now revised and expanded, and a Nominee for the Best Self-Help Non-Fiction Ebook of the 2015 Global Ebook Awards.

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A 2014 Global Ebook Awards GOLD Winner for Best Non-fiction Self-help Ebook.

2015 Global Ebook Awards Nominee for Best Self-Help Non-Fiction Ebook