Character isn't something you are born with. Character is something you develop over time. Perhaps one of the hardest 'pillars' to keep is Trustworthiness.
Trust is something earned over time, but lost in a moment. While many in prison never develop trustworthiness in their lives, others banked a healthy deposit of trustworthiness, only to lose it all in a brief moment, or in a series of poor choices.
Trustworthiness encompasses qualities like honesty, integrity, reliability, and loyalty.
Once lost, trust is difficult to regain. Difficult, but not impossible. Prisoners and former prisoners are inherently mistrusted. Perhaps this is warranted. It's wise in today's world to require trust to be earned rather than freely given until violated.
But anyone, prisoner, former prisoner, or not, can earn trust again. They can rebuild a broken pillar of trustworthiness by investing in a life characterized by honesty, integrity, reliability and loyalty.
Consistent honesty in communication and conduct are essential to a life of trustworthiness. Integrity means being undivided. The same when someone's paying attention or not.
Reliability means keeping your promised and avoiding unwise commitments.
Loyalty involves putting the interests of certain people or affiliations above your own. It means a responsibility of looking after those interests.
Rebuilding trust is a long, hard process. But it's a process that pays dividends as much on the journey as at the destination.
Be wise in how you do it, but give people a chance to rebuild trust with you. Look for ways to foster growth of these qualities in yourself and others. Sometimes trust regained is more valuable than the trust that first was lost.
