Make Trust Your Default
Cynics earn less, get promoted less, and are less happy — so default to trust.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 83%
Citing Harvard Business Review research, Kenny notes that cynics — those who believe people are inherently dishonest and that you must play games and step on necks to win — earn less, are promoted less, and report lower job satisfaction than their optimistic counterparts. He treats this workplace finding as a microcosm of larger happiness and pairs it with vulnerability as two sides of one coin. The prescription: make trust your default, look for the best in others, and offer your energy first rather than only receiving and waiting to counter-move. He acknowledges the fine line between trust and naivety, and that valid past hurt often gets over-generalized into projection onto everyone.
Origin
Kenny released a podcast episode after reading HBR research on how optimism makes people happier, wealthier, and more fulfilled, then connected it to dating as a way out of the guarded, everyone-must-move-first cycle.
Core principles
- 01Cynics who assume everyone is out to get them earn less and are promoted less than optimists.
- 02Vulnerability and optimism are two sides of the same coin.
- 03Offer your energy first instead of waiting to match what others do.
- 04There is a fine line between being trustful and being naive — look for the best in people while staying grounded.
How to run it
- 1
Spot the cynical default
Notice when you're only matching energy, protecting yourself first, or waiting for the other person to move.
Pro tip These are the Machiavellian, dog-eat-dog reflexes the research links to worse outcomes.
- 2
Offer energy first
Extend trust and openness before it's reciprocated, looking for the best in others as your opening assumption.
Pro tip Being a kind, hopeful, optimistic person is the behavior tied to earning and being promoted more.
- 3
Separate hurt from projection
Acknowledge that real past pain is valid, but resist adding projection that assumes everyone else will behave the same way.
Pro tip Taking valid tidbits of experience and generalizing them to everyone is what deepens the guarded cycle.
Watch out There is a fine line between being trustful and being naive — stay grounded.
In the wild
Someone hurt repeatedly refuses to make the first move or trust anyone initially, waiting to see what the other person does before opening up.
→ The self-protection backs them further into an 'us against the world' cycle; defaulting to trust breaks it.
Common mistakes
Only receiving and waiting to counter-move
Refusing to offer energy first because 'everyone's got to move' keeps you in a cynical posture the research links to lower pay, fewer promotions, and less satisfaction.
Generalizing past hurt onto everyone
Taking real, valid pain and projecting it onto every new person makes the whole world feel untrustworthy and deepens the guarded cycle.
Is it for you?
Best for
People who have become guarded in dating or work after being burned.
Not ideal for
Genuinely predatory situations where caution is warranted.
From the transcript
“Make trust your default and you'll earn more you'll be promoted more and you'll be happier.”
“There's a fine line between being trustful and being naive but it basically said look for the best in others offer your energy first.”
From the episode
Case Kenny: Mindfulness for Entrepreneurs, How to Gain Clarity and Make Smarter Decisions
Case Kenny