About this quote

Trust is a decision you make with imperfect information. Who have you trusted too quickly? A practical move is to watch behavior over time and let trust grow step by step — start with small favors and keep the important things protected until people prove themselves. That way you stay open without handing away what matters.

When to use it

• At work I liked the new teammate's charm, but before I gave them access to the client list I told my manager, 'Let's give them a small project first and see how they handle it.'
• When my sister called asking for a big loan after months of silence, I remembered that people hide motives and asked for a repayment plan before saying yes.
• On a second date someone kept promising the future, so I told my friend, 'I like them, but I'm going to let trust build slowly instead of rushing in.'
• For a group assignment I assigned the research portion first and waited to see if my partner met deadlines before I handed over the final editing.