Still ponder this trust issue

After rereading my posting from this morning I began to ponder what the word trust really means to others. I know what my definition of it is but is it the same as others. Well I wasn't about to ask people what trust meant to them so I did the next best thing and looked it up in the dictionary. I still believe in good old hard cover books so up to my library of books I went. According to the definition it states the following:

• reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence.
• confident expectation of something; hope.
• a person on whom or thing on which one relies

Yikes once reading this I began to realize that maybe what I am lacking is confidence in people and the fear that they won't meet up to my expectations or will let me down if I trust in them whole heartily. Could past experiences have hurt me so deep that I am that willing to live behind this wall not having confidence in others or I am I short changing myself by not giving others the benefit of the doubt?