Trust is built incrementally but destroyed absolutely. A single punishing event, such as a betrayal of confidence, can instantly erase all the accumulated positive actions and rewards from a long-term relationship. To be considered trustworthy, one must maintain a perfect record of not using another's vulnerability against them.
Trust is not an abstract feeling but an active behavioral choice. It involves making yourself vulnerable by giving another person the power to harm you, based on the calculated bet that they will choose not to. This reframes trust from a passive belief into a conscious acceptance of risk.
When someone uses a vulnerability against you, they are making a calculation. They are choosing the short-term reward of winning an argument or gaining an advantage over the significant long-term cost of damaging or destroying the foundation of trust in the relationship. This highlights the conflict between short-term incentives and long-term goals.
Breaking trust doesn't kill a relationship instantly; it cuts off the flow of truth and vulnerability—the relationship's nutrients. Like a dying tree, the structure may remain visible for a long time, but it is hollow and dead internally because the essential elements for growth have been severed.