Step one: Choosing candidates wisely.
Trust is not something that should be extended lightly. Trusting someone means allowing them access to your vulnerabilities, and knowing that they are not going to prey on those. So, when you are working on extending trust, be sure to choose the people you want to extend it to carefully. A person who has broken your trust multiple times in the past may not be a wise choice. Someone who has shown they are loyal, kind, forgiving, etc. on the other hand may be a great choice.

Step two: Knowing the consequences.
When you extend trust you are opening yourself up to the worst thing that could happen to you. So, what is the worst that could happen? If you trust someone enough to share a confidence, the worst thing that could happen is that they could betray that and tell others what you told them. If you trust someone with your heart, the worst that could happen is that they could break it. So, when extending trust, look at it much like you would an investment. Look at the risk factors, and look at your risk tolerance. If you can't tolerate a broken heart, then now would not be the time to entrust your heart to someone. If you can't tolerate being slandered and having someone use information against you, don't give it out. Knowing the potential consequences and your strength to deal with them can help you in extended trust. If the worst that could happen is you will be embarrassed, then it might not be such a bad thing to extend trust.

Step three: Take a leap of faith.
Once you have set yourself up to have the best chance possible of extending trust and being rewarded with a trust worthy person, the rest is a test of faith. You can never guarantee that someone is going to deserve your trust, never break or betray it. However, if you never trust anyone because of fear that they are not trust worthy, you never will experience the joy and intimacy you get from extending and receiving trust. So, allow yourself to take a chance, and experience the rewards. In some cases you will be let down, but in others, it will be well worth it, and there will be a great deal of joy found in the relationship.

Relationships are built on trust, friendships, intimate relationships, and even familial relationships. If you want to have the blessings of relationships in your life you have to trust and be trusted. You might have some bad experiences that lead to issues with trust, but that does not mean you will never be able to again extend trust in a relationship, it simply means you will do so more carefully.