Is loyalty limiting? I can understand being faithful in a relationship or a marriage because one has to take commitments seriously be they better or worse. Yet in many other areas, I often wonder what the reward for unflinching loyalty really is. This is especially true when it comes to work commitments as well as investments and passions.
There is always the tendency to develop an attachment to things we probably have no business being attached to. Sometimes it isn't so much as we're attached, but rather boils down to the things that suck up our time and energy and leave us feeling like they've become a part of our existence. The danger to having such things around is that many of them probably don't quite have our best interests at heart.
One thing I've observed is that loyalty should at the bare minimum be measured on the basis of mutual satisfaction. Too many times it is a one sided thing that can leave us with feelings of regret down the line. I know I've certainly had that experience putting effort into something I probably should have quit a long time ago, and the potential drawbacks of this is the cumulative time, energy and effort that cannot be recovered.
Holding out for better opportunities or taking advantage of them doesn't equal disloyalty if the original place doesn't have your best interests. Of course some situations are a bit more complicated, but I think this principle should apply generally. It doesn't take too long for us to figure out what does and doesn't have our interest at heart after all.