Being vulnerable is rarely spoken about in a positive light. We see it as a negative… Like sitting on a public toilet with a broken lock with your foot awkwardly pushed against the door. I promise this has never happened to me…. Ever….

By the end of this post I hope to convince you that vulnerability can be your own superpower. Hear me out.. We all know deep down that when somebody is vulnerable we tend to want to help them, simple human nature. Yet when we are vulnerable ourselves we believe the opposite.

Consider a child. The personification of vulnerability, we are drawn to take care of them naturally… So how do we exploit this? (hopefully not to be a lazy manchild but if it works by all means.. )

We all know in an argument it can be tough to concede when things get heated but imagine if the other person in the argument were to say that they were upset and hurt. It would immediately be tough to further punish and upset the individual.

Vulnerability has its boundaries, being vulnerable with a boss at work when brand new may come across as if you are unable to handle the job. But I would argue that once they discover you are capable then it can help gain respect and rapport quicker to be vulnerable.

It’s crucial to note that the style of vulnerability is important. You want to come across as emotionally stable. Examples of this are – acknowledging you lack the knowledge rather than saying you do, asking for help even when it is not required to build bonds and trust.

The most important example of vulnerability is the ability to discuss problems and conceding personal faults. This allows for others to see you are not acting out of ego and then be more willing to then discuss their own faults. This behaviour is almost infective, meaning one person will help another who will help another.

Men account for much of suicide statistics. I believe this stems from the lack of vulnerability in comparison to women as well as hiding and ignoring emotions. We are always told as men and boys to show vulnerability is to show weakness. I would argue that being vulnerable requires more strength than hiding it.

I will explain my story in it’s own blog post but if I tell you one thing its that vulnerability saved my life. Once I gave myself permission to be upset my depression began to lift (after a suicidal 3 days unfortunately).

Do not compare your trauma. You can’t appreciate what you havent experienced. Saying things like ‘they have it much worse’ is shielding yourself from being vulnerable.

So there you have it. I hope I’ve convinced you to utilise vulnerability in your life. It can be infectious and you’ll find it will help more than just yourself.