Do you consider yourself a loyal person? Loyalty is a strong sense of allegiance to something important and it can be your family, country, religion, community, or a combination thereof. If you are a martial artist, are you loyal to your style or instructor? Many practitioners want to know and understand the lineage of the art that they practice and they are loyal about following it persistently.

I think, however, that many of us have lost our sense of loyalty in modern times. At many junctures in life, we disregard or underestimate its importance. Perhaps we simply push it aside because we are too busy to adhere to it. Your personal direction is diminished without a sense of loyalty. You lose your guidepost which stabilizes a crucial balance in your personal life. There is only one way to reclaim loyalty and there is only one place from which all loyalty emanates:

Loyalty to self.

You must be loyal to yourself before you can fully commit to other responsibilities, live a powerful life, or even learn a martial art. Self-loyalty unlocks harmony because it forces you to be true to yourself and follow your own unique path. When you deviate off the path, you are quickly drawn back, just like the loyal martial artist who continually feels drawn to practice. Loyalty to self is the prerequisite to any other type of loyalty. Only when you believe, trust, and yes, even love yourself, can you ever be loyal to anything at all.

Strive to be the best that you can be. Take risks to improve, because I can assure you that you have hardly tapped your potential. When I began The Martial Arts Woman brand (blog, book, and now podcast), I allowed myself to be loyal to who I am. I didn’t know if anyone would listen, read, or even care. The genuine me knew that to change the world for the better, I must take a bold personal step. As I told someone recently, success is not as much about how many listen to or read my message as it is about following my purpose. I am successful because of that and for no other reason.

Sometimes, self-loyalty wavers because of other people or circumstances. Even those with your best interests at heart may not understand your personal plan. You may face obstacles that feel insurmountable. Some may suggest that you will not overcome, not because they are mean or uncaring, but because they do not understand self-loyalty and the personal truth it brings.

As you walk through the moments, hours, and days of your life, follow the journey that calls you. I love martial arts because they are a personal calling to train, teach and highlight the practical and diligent mindset that martial arts cultivate. I am only fulfilled when I encourage, inspire and motivate others. It is not a choice as much as a need and that is how I know that my self-loyalty is in tact and I am on the right path.

Be loyal to your purpose and mission. Think about your goals and dreams and make concrete plans and decisions. For the martial artist, loyalty is why he or she remains with an instructor or a particular style. In life, loyalty to self is the unwavering belief in who you truly want to be and taking the steps to get there.

Follow through and establish your self-loyalty. You owe this to yourself, and even more importantly, you deserve it.

xoxo

Andrea

Check out my new podcast! The first episode explains what the podcast is all about: https://anchor.fm/andrea-harkins

Pick up one of my motivational books:

The Martial Arts Woman: https://www.amazon.com/Martial-Arts-Woman-Moti…/…/1544916213

Martial Art Inspirations for Everyone: https://www.amazon.com/Martial-Inspirations-Ev…/…/150297830X