The Secret Keeper

Anfal Fekri
Jul 24, 2017 · 3 min read

I think I shall be adopting a new title for myself as the “Secret Keeper” where I have been recently trusted with many secret shared by people who barely know me for a few weeks or a few months.

I am guessing that the first question that is going on into your mind is: what are those secrets? Share them with us Anfal! Well, sorry to rub it off in your face but I can’t share any of the secrets that I have received, however I can share something deeper than sharing those secrets.

When someone is sharing a secret with me, I do not only listen to that secret, but I also try to understand different aspects like:

What made this person share this information with me?
What do they see in me that they don’t necessarily see in others?
What makes me trustworthy and finally, what do they need from me?

My analysis are in the scenarios below:

Building trust
I had a case where a person shared a similar secret about their personal life after me sharing a secret that is mutual (or carries a similar weight) such secrets creates a safe zone for two people to feel that they can build trust and support each other as well as a way to build a stronger bond and connection.

Asking for a favor
I had another case where this person shared a secret in exchange of a favor I have asked for. I believe with this scenario people can help each other with what they need to be done through each person’s capacity and access to resources.

Asking for help and advise
Now this one incident shocked me the most and pushed me to write this blog. I am not sure how much this person is aware of their body language, but when that person shared their secret with me, I felt that they were sincerely asking for help or for an escape from what they are going through. When someone shares a secret with such a heavy weight, it means that they truly feel comfortable and safe around you.

After all the scenarios and incidents that have happened to me, I realized that I have a greater role towards the people surrounding me. I believe now I have the responsibility to take serious actions towards these secrets in a way that would never harm them.

Moreover, I also feel responsible to deliver another important message to my readers in this blog post, which is to make sure to keep people’s secrets safe with you. We all have that urge within us to gossip about people! I know it can be thrilling and fun! But bear in mind that you need to take these people seriously and to respect their privacy, because when you need someone to listen to your secret, you definitely want the listener to be trustworthy and to respect you in return.

On a final note, when someone shares a secret with you, it means that they feel save being vulnerable to expose a part of them towards you. Never take advantage of that, because that indicates that you are gifted with a great heart that people feel comfortable around you.

Anfal Fekri

Written by

The Entrepreneur & The Social Activist!

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