What is loyalty? To be loyal is to give firm allegiance and support. This could be to your family, friends, workplace, a cause, country, etc. Imagine a world without this trait. All our transactions are essentially based on trust. You tell a person something and they should be able to take your word for it. If you distrust half the things you hear, your mind develops bitterness and you cannot do anything significant because you can trust no one.
On progress
This trait provides the foundation for progress. When a society needs to move forward, many people need to come together and work toward a common goal. They need to trust that each of the individuals will do their part and carry their share of the load. If loyalty cannot be expected, then big things cannot be done.
Projects will simply fail because no one can trust each other. People cannot be held accountable 24/7, 365 days of the year. There are not enough resources to monitor each individual in such a way. But if you can place your trust in someone’s loyalty, they will naturally hold themselves accountable.
In spiritual matters, believers place their trust in the church. And that’s why it’s heart-breaking when those in positions of authority within a religion are exposed for misconduct. In the family, the wife and husband trust each other to remain loyal. Based on this foundation, they entrust each other with their vulnerabilities and their lives. Hence, when one person breaks the trust, it is something unforgivable.
In high-performance sports, aviation, and space-related professions, there is an enormous trust placed in each individual. The higher up you go, the greater the importance of loyalty. The stakes are high when a CEO betrays his company and the shareholders.
This trait is most exemplified in the armed forces. Without this quality, you cannot advance on an enemy. All missions are run by teams with utmost loyalty to the team members and the nations they serve.
One disloyal act in a company can ruin one’s whole career. One disloyal act can wreck a family. A soldier’s act of disloyalty puts a nation in peril.
Loyalty to self
How can you be disloyal to yourself? Loyalty is a prime component of confidence. You have to trust yourself. How do you build this trust? By doing what you said you would. It’s simple. You make a promise to yourself that you will do something. What happens when you break the promise? You have lost faith in yourself. You have become bereft of this trait. Without this quality, how can you develop confidence in your character?
Loyalty is a subset of truth. Cultivation of truth enables you to realize the profoundness of this trait. In matters of spiritual discipline, there is loyalty to be shown toward your school, sect, or denomination. This dedication and single-minded focus will enable you to achieve greater understanding and improve your levels.
An important factor to consider is that if you are loyal, you will attract other people with the same quality. Your reputation will be stellar. Even your enemies will admire your dedication and loyalty. A friend without loyalty is more dangerous than an enemy with loyalty. An enemy without this trait is almost an asset.
Not much is expounded on loyalty nowadays and being true to oneself is not a quality that is cherished. With fake news, fake views, and fake products, there is not much you can depend on.
