Why Is Trust More Important Than Love?

You may think that trust and love are the same thing, or at least intrinsically linked. But, in reality, trust and love are completely different things. While love comes from the heart, trust comes from your brain – the very place where rational and logical decision-making takes place. And in fact, trust is much more important than love because it’s what keeps you together with the people who matter most to you throughout your life, regardless of whether or not they feel the same way about you as you do about them.

Trust Makes You Happy

According to a study, Trust makes you happy. It’s also healthier for you. In fact, a lack of trust in people is detrimental to your health—you’re less likely to take care of yourself when you feel like other people don’t have your best interests at heart. While it might seem counterintuitive, putting faith in others can actually improve your well-being. In short: building relationships is good for you. And that means that love isn’t as important as trust in maintaining healthy interpersonal relationships.

Love can Fade, but Trust Lasts Forever

When love is brand new, it’s easy to be blinded by feelings of affection. The honeymoon phase will inevitably come to an end, though, and what remains is whether or not you can trust your partner when things get tough. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been together—if you can’t trust your partner, then you should move on now.

Love Leads to Jealousy and Lies

The romantic notion of love isn’t based on anything rational. There are no facts, inside feelings or evidence to prove that your partner loves you and will never leave you. In fact, many men and women believe they love someone when they actually love their idea of them. As soon as he or she stops living up to those expectations—once a flaw appears in your perfect image—your relationship can crumble into a pile of broken trust and heartbreak. Trust is much more important than love: It seems counterintuitive, but putting trust before love is an excellent way to keep your emotions intact while protecting yourself from an unwise choice (read: marriage). When partners hold each other accountable for making poor decisions and breaking promises it strengthens their bond. Developing a track record of trustworthy behavior early in relationships makes couples much less likely to get burned down the road by unfaithful spouses. You might be less likely to experience life-altering heartache if you don’t put all your eggs in one basket until after you’ve been married 10 years or have three kids together.

Trust Builds Intimacy

When you give another person access to your inside feelings, that’s when you build intimacy. Intimacy between two people is a type of closeness that develops when both of them can be themselves around each other. The greater your level of trust with someone, the more likely it is for you to feel open with them about inside feelings. Someone who doesn’t know or trust you enough won’t appreciate it if they hear about any inside feeling from you. They might tell you what they think, but they won’t let down their guard and really talk with you.

Trust Helps You Work Together with Others

It might sound extreme, but it’s true. When you trust someone with your innermost feelings and emotions—when you allow yourself to be vulnerable in front of them—your trust is reciprocated. There aren’t many people we let inside our deepest selves; people who love us don’t always make good partners because their goals and priorities are different from ours. But when there’s an equal exchange of vulnerability? There are few feelings as empowering as knowing that your partner trusts you just as much as you trust him or her. In fact, psychologists tell us that trust is more important than love. Although loving another person can add value to our lives, it doesn’t take very long for relationships based on mutual affection to sour: Strains will eventually develop and hurtful behaviors will surface unless there’s also trust involved. Without trust and respect, no relationship can survive over time!

Trust allows You to be Independent

Being able to trust your partner is important because it allows you to be independent and have a life separate from your relationship. You can go out with friends, pursue hobbies and interests that aren’t necessarily in line with what your partner does or enjoys, and you feel free to express yourself. You know that at any point if something comes up, there’s a person who has your back waiting for you at home – and you can do likewise when it comes time for them to deal with challenges on their own.

The Benefits of Feeling Respected in Relationships

In a happy relationship, it’s easy to fall in love with your partner, but what about when it comes time to talk about marriage? A recent study examined how men and women in relationships valued trust as an important value for potential spouses. They found that when we feel respected in a relationship, then we are more likely to make decisions based on trust. This doesn’t just mean not being suspicious of your partner; rather, it means feeling comfortable with each other enough to share inside feelings. Those who were able to express how they felt most valued their partners as trustworthy individuals who could provide them with honesty and understanding. In short, those who felt their partners demonstrated respect over love reported having deeper relationships and marriages.