Loyalty: The Fading Virtue

Send us Fan Mail  A Virtue  is  both a quality and a habit. It’s not just something you believe in. It’s something you practice until it becomes a part of who you are. Some of the most common virtues:HonestyCourageKindnessIntegrityAnd LoyaltyA virtue is a good quality of character. They are the character traits  that make you trustworthy, dependable, honorable and good to others.A virtue is also a habit; a habit of doing what is right over and over again until it becomes part of who you are. Virtues are built through repetition.Virtues were often talked about as the “opposite” of what are known as the 7 deadly sins. Those include: pride, greed, envy, and anger. Where those qualities, the 7 deadly sin qualities, tend to breakdown trust and pull people apart, VIRTUES are  the qualities that build trust and hold relationships together.Today I want to focus on one of the most important Virtues when it comes to all of your relationships, and that is loyalty.Loyalty is the quality of remaining committed to someone or something through both good and bad moments- it means standing by the people you care about and honoring the relationships you have chosen.Loyalty is a quality that most of us say that we value- we want loyal friends, loyal partners & loyal family members. We want people who we trust to stand beside us.Without loyalty in your relationships you may start to feel uncertain about where you stand.Loyalty is often misunderstood.Loyalty is NOT  blind obedience and it’s NOT staying in harmful situations.Loyalty is:CommitmentReliabilityStanding by someone you loveAnd choosing your “relationship” when things get hard.This is where loyalty matters most- and that is your romantic relationships.When you chose to spend to build and spend your life with someone- loyalty becomes the foundation that keeps your relationship  stable and secure.Relationships inevitable experience stress, disappointments, and periods of uncertainty- Attraction may fluctuate, responsibilities grow heavier and life becomes complicated. Loyalty provides reassurance that both people are committed to protecting the relationship during those times and you feel like you are on the same team, and working toward the same future.Committed relationships rely on 3 major pillars:TrustRespect And loyaltyWhen it comes to loyalty in a relationship most people think about “physical cheating”-but loyalty is much broader than that. it shows up as  emotional loyalty, physical loyalty, and in how you protect your relationship.Today,  it feels like “loyalty is fading out”, relationships are ending at record speed, marriages are 50/50  divorce rates,  friendships  feel temporary ,families seem to be growing distant, and even workplaces today operate like short term arrangements.Many people feel that loyalty is not really a “thing” anymore. It’s definitely not what it used to be.Our culture now celebrates independence, instant satisfaction, and walking away. Technology makes it easy to imagine endless alternatives, and constant competition encourage self focus- and - ADD to that the fact that fewer of us grow up seeing loyalty modeled, no wonder long term commitment feels much harder today.Two people who repeatedly chose commitment, trust, and loyalty to each other- this is why loyalty remains one of the most meaningful virtues a person can have.Enjoy!Joanne DemersThe Aging Mask- A lifestyle Medicine Podcast(949) 236-1529Follow along on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/theagingmask