The Mysteries of Secrets
If someone has told you a secret that you want to tell someone, don’t tell anyone. Although, if the secret may be harmful to the person who told you the secret, then tell a trusted adult. Do not tell your other friends. When you tell the adult, your friend may not trust you or not want to talk to you for a while, but eventually they will realize that you helped them and they will thank you.
If you tell someone a secret, and they tell everyone the secret, you aren’t the only person who loses their trust. They also lose the trust of everyone they told the secret to, because those people will realize that they were told someone’s secret, and those people would not want their secrets told.
Trust Levels
Level 1 - On this level, there isn’t any trust at all. You probably don’t know this person very well, or they are strangers to you. If you tell them something, it most likely isn't something about you, and if it is something about you, it would be something about you that you wouldn’t really care if the whole world knew that thing. Most of the time you talk to this person, it is just small talk. Although, another person on this level could be someone who was on a higher level and got bumped down to this level, most likely permanently. They are put into an invisible jail, which keeps them on this level for quite a while, and possibly forever.
Level 2 – If someone is on this level of the trust pyramid, they are going to be getting to know you better, and you are going to be getting to know them better. You probably would tell them about yourself; who you are, what you like, what you dislike, etc. You would also be learning the same things about them.
Level 3 – If someone is on this level, you don’t tell them secrets, but you tell people on this level things that not everyone else knows. Some things you may tell them are things like a new family pet, summer vacation plans, etc.
Level 4 – On this level, you still aren’t telling people secrets, but you are telling them things that you wouldn’t really want everyone else to know. Although, if other people find out about these things, it will not be the end of the world. You would probably tell someone on this level your grades or something along those lines.
Level 5 – A person who is on this level will start to know some of your secrets. You would probably tell them a few minor secrets. For example, you may tell them who you like.
Level 6 – If you tell someone something on this level, it may be personal of emotional. These aren’t secrets, but you definitely don’t want a lot of people knowing these things.
Level 7 – A person on this level knows all of your secrets, or almost all of your secrets.
Level 8 – A person on this level knows all of your secrets, and you trust them with your life. Keep in mind that there will probably only be one person on this level, if there is anyone on this level at all. It will take a while for anyone to get up to the highest point on the trust pyramid.
Strengthening Your Friendship With Trust
If you want to strengthen your friendship with someone, then you probably would want to do it with TRUST. Trust is one of the most important parts to making a friendship work. Although, you can’t trust someone just to make a stronger bond between the two of you. You need to find out if the person is trustworthy or not. If the person is not trustworthy, they may do some of these things:
If any of these things are true, then you probably shouldn’t trust that person. That doesn’t mean you still can’t be friends. Maybe they can’t be your closest friend who you tell everything, but you guys can still hang out and be friends.
If those qualities aren’t true, then start building your trust with that person. Start out by finding out where they fit on the trust scale. If they fit on level 4, then you probably should start building trust with that person, by moving them up to level 5. If they are below level 4, then work on getting closer to that person. One way you can do that is by playing this game:
You each have a paper, and they have the following statements on them:
M&Ms or Skittles
Winter or Summer
Chocolate or Vanilla
Pizza or Ice Cream
Instagram or Twitter
There can also be many other statements like those that you make up on the paper. Then, you each circle things on the paper that you think are true for the other person. For example, if you think the person likes chocolate better than vanilla, then you would circle chocolate. At the end, you compare answers, and by this doing this little quiz, you get to know the person better, and you also have a fun time together.
Questions for Consideration
These questions can help you figure out if someone is trustworthy or not.
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then the person probably isn’t trustworthy.
If someone has told you a secret that you want to tell someone, don’t tell anyone. Although, if the secret may be harmful to the person who told you the secret, then tell a trusted adult. Do not tell your other friends. When you tell the adult, your friend may not trust you or not want to talk to you for a while, but eventually they will realize that you helped them and they will thank you.
If you tell someone a secret, and they tell everyone the secret, you aren’t the only person who loses their trust. They also lose the trust of everyone they told the secret to, because those people will realize that they were told someone’s secret, and those people would not want their secrets told.
Trust Levels
Level 1 - On this level, there isn’t any trust at all. You probably don’t know this person very well, or they are strangers to you. If you tell them something, it most likely isn't something about you, and if it is something about you, it would be something about you that you wouldn’t really care if the whole world knew that thing. Most of the time you talk to this person, it is just small talk. Although, another person on this level could be someone who was on a higher level and got bumped down to this level, most likely permanently. They are put into an invisible jail, which keeps them on this level for quite a while, and possibly forever.
Level 2 – If someone is on this level of the trust pyramid, they are going to be getting to know you better, and you are going to be getting to know them better. You probably would tell them about yourself; who you are, what you like, what you dislike, etc. You would also be learning the same things about them.
Level 3 – If someone is on this level, you don’t tell them secrets, but you tell people on this level things that not everyone else knows. Some things you may tell them are things like a new family pet, summer vacation plans, etc.
Level 4 – On this level, you still aren’t telling people secrets, but you are telling them things that you wouldn’t really want everyone else to know. Although, if other people find out about these things, it will not be the end of the world. You would probably tell someone on this level your grades or something along those lines.
Level 5 – A person who is on this level will start to know some of your secrets. You would probably tell them a few minor secrets. For example, you may tell them who you like.
Level 6 – If you tell someone something on this level, it may be personal of emotional. These aren’t secrets, but you definitely don’t want a lot of people knowing these things.
Level 7 – A person on this level knows all of your secrets, or almost all of your secrets.
Level 8 – A person on this level knows all of your secrets, and you trust them with your life. Keep in mind that there will probably only be one person on this level, if there is anyone on this level at all. It will take a while for anyone to get up to the highest point on the trust pyramid.
Strengthening Your Friendship With Trust
If you want to strengthen your friendship with someone, then you probably would want to do it with TRUST. Trust is one of the most important parts to making a friendship work. Although, you can’t trust someone just to make a stronger bond between the two of you. You need to find out if the person is trustworthy or not. If the person is not trustworthy, they may do some of these things:
- Constantly gossip
- Tell someone’s secrets to the world
- Aren’t always supportive of someone’s secrets
If any of these things are true, then you probably shouldn’t trust that person. That doesn’t mean you still can’t be friends. Maybe they can’t be your closest friend who you tell everything, but you guys can still hang out and be friends.
If those qualities aren’t true, then start building your trust with that person. Start out by finding out where they fit on the trust scale. If they fit on level 4, then you probably should start building trust with that person, by moving them up to level 5. If they are below level 4, then work on getting closer to that person. One way you can do that is by playing this game:
You each have a paper, and they have the following statements on them:
M&Ms or Skittles
Winter or Summer
Chocolate or Vanilla
Pizza or Ice Cream
Instagram or Twitter
There can also be many other statements like those that you make up on the paper. Then, you each circle things on the paper that you think are true for the other person. For example, if you think the person likes chocolate better than vanilla, then you would circle chocolate. At the end, you compare answers, and by this doing this little quiz, you get to know the person better, and you also have a fun time together.
Questions for Consideration
These questions can help you figure out if someone is trustworthy or not.
- Have you seen someone tell that person a secret, and then the person who was told the secret tells someone else the secret?
- Do they seem to talk about things that may be personal information about someone else?
- Do they constantly gossip?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then the person probably isn’t trustworthy.