One of the most important qualities we look for in people has to do with trust. “People” would also include us. Can we trust ourselves?

Of course we can trust people, and ourselves – if we ask the right question: What can we trust them for?

Not everyone has the same level of trustworthiness, the same standards or degree of integrity, or even the same kind of integrity. For example, when Charlie Brown tries to kick the football that Lucy is holding and she pulls it away so that he lands flat on his back, every single time, there is a mismatch between what he can trust her for and what he wants to trust her for.

He wants to trust that she will hold the football in position for him to actually kick it. What it turns out he can actually trust her for is to pull it away so that physics takes over and he lands flat on his back, football unkicked. Every. Single. Time. I believe Charles Schulz died before Charlie Brown ever kicked the ball that Lucy held. He may still not have kicked it!

That’s an example of knowing you can trust someone to do something, or be something, knowing that’s who they are, even if what you trust them for is not something that you value, appreciate or enjoy. That’s what they do, and you can trust that they will continue doing that.

What about us? Do we know who we can trust to hold our football, ready to kick? Can we do it for ourselves?

When you tell yourself there is something you want to do, a goal to reach, do you trust yourself to actually achieve that goal? Even though it may take many steps along the way, can you trust yourself to get there in spite of the fears you have around failing or even succeeding? Even if the goal changes, grows, develops differently than you expected, will you keep moving toward it? Or do you trust yourself to keep saying “someday I’ll…”? Is that what happens?

How can we increase the trust we have for ourselves to follow-through on moving toward our goals? Especially after we have a history of blowing them off after not achieving them, or deciding they’re not important after all because we didn’t reach them?

Here’s how: Use tiny steps. Choose one teeny, tiny task or movement forward on the project, complete it, celebrate the completion, choose another teeny, tiny task or movement forward, complete it, celebrate the completion, rinse and repeat.

The celebration part is important because we’ve overcome internal hurdles, achieved something we committed to, no matter how small, and made progress. We may not be at the goal yet, but we’ve made progress! Celebrate that progress!!

Besides, it’s fun to celebrate.

Photo by: Dave Adamson / Unsplash