Do These 4 Things To Regain His Trust After Being Busted In A Lie
We all make mistakes, but now it's your turn to step up.
Just Life | Shutterstock You didn't mean to, but you lied to the person you love the most.
Maybe it was about how much you spent on a new outfit, where you went instead of "working late at the office," or the fact that you've been in contact with your ex.
Either way, you lied and now it's eating you up inside. He may have found out on his own, or you couldn't take the guilt and confessed. This is truly a frustrating and confusing place to be.
Feelings like embarrassment, shame, anger, resentment, justification, and defensiveness have you all stirred up inside, and if you've lied to him in the past, you probably feel even worse.
This is a habit you need to stop so you can stop destroying your relationship and he can learn to trust you again.
After the admission (or discovery), the outburst of hurt feelings, and the apology. Now what?
You've made a shift and now you need to focus on doing whatever you can to restore trust in your relationship. You need to make things right again so that the two of you can get back to loving and connecting with one another. But it seems to you that no matter how much you attempt to be completely honest, your partner just can't get over the past, and he's having a hard time forgiving you.
What you probably already know is that you can't make your partner trust you again. This means that while you can't make him release the past or forgive you for what happened, you absolutely can take responsibility for yourself. It's time to focus your attention on becoming trustworthy again — not only to him but also to yourself.
The string of decisions that led to your lying probably eroded your own sense of self-trust. It doesn't matter whether you had an affair and lied to cover it up or you told lies about something more or less "serious."
You did the deed, and in order to rebuild that sense of trust and connection both with him and within yourself, you have to make some changes.
Here are 4 ways to get back on the path to trustworthiness:
1. Learn to trust yourself again.
It's vital that you learn to trust yourself again. This is for your benefit and also for the possibility of improving your relationship. When you don't believe in yourself, it shows. Your body language will tell the world that you don't see yourself as trustworthy. If you don't trust yourself, why would anyone else trust you?
Even if you've done nothing wrong and you are being completely honest now, as you continue to hold onto the image of yourself as someone who can't be trusted, your body language will communicate this despite the truth. As you begin to forgive yourself and heal, your body language will reshape and send a different message.
2. Become totally transparent.
While you do this important inner work learning to trust yourself again, you have to be completely transparent and open with your partner.
Make it a point to regularly share with him what you've been doing and who you've been with. Do this with an intention to rebuild trust and establish a sense of openness, rather than from an "I have to" attitude.
You should think about being transparent as a way to share and reconnect about what you do when you're apart. Listen and engage with the information he shares with you in return.
Stay tuned in to yourself and to what you want and need in your relationship. Your desire to restore trust and move toward the relationship you want are valid, no matter what you did in the past. In fact, sometimes lying in a relationship occurs because one or both people are not clearly communicating their needs. Get in touch with what you need from your relationship and constantly share that with him and have him do the same.
3. Follow through on your commitments.
It's important that you follow through on the agreements you make with your partner, especially at this time.
As you restore trust, make a commitment to yourself and to him, and keep it. Do whatever you can to keep your word. Sometimes in a relationship, people agree to things they are not 100% sure they want to follow through. It seems, at the time, easier to just say "yes" and move on, but that won't help you rebuild trust. Instead, only make agreements that you believe you can keep.
If you find that you're unable to keep your word for whatever reason, it's imperative that you immediately communicate what's going on with him and talk about how you can fix the problem.
4. Notice your own improvements and give yourself some credit.
Don't wait for him to verbally commend you on the improvements you've made. Celebrate yourself by noting the things you are doing right. Notice and applaud your own strides as you make them, one decision at a time. As you do this, allow him some time to heal and forgive you at his own pace.
Even though you think you might be doing a great job, it'll probably take some time to earn his trust back.
Healthy communication is absolutely essential when rebuilding trust after lying.
Susie and Otto Collins are relationship coaches and authors who help couples communicate, connect, and create the relationship they desire.