Do you know many famous people say that fame brings loneliness into your life?

“People don’t realize how lonely you are” these are the words of the famous Hollywood star, Robert Patterson.

“What people don’t realize is that fame, whatever your worst experience in high  school, when you are bullied by those 10 kids in high school, fame is that, but on a global scale, where you’re being bullied by millions of people constantly” – Megan Fox

Can you see how famous people feel that fame brings loneliness into your life?

Fame is not a glitzy world you assume it to be. It is shrouded with hard work, many heart breaks, lack of privacy and being at the tail end of unwarranted comments by everyone worth their name.

But, you would not agree with me.

You feel that fame can only make you happy.

Here is what you assume when you see famous people enjoying their fame.

You are in great awe of the famous people you see in the magazines\TV\newspapers. You feel that they are the happiest lot in the world. You literally gape at their flashy lifestyle, their swanky cars, their diamonds and feel you are nothing compared to them.

You also think that worries and problems are only for ordinary people like you. It is not for the famous people, you assume. So, you crave to achieve their incredible celebrity status.

To be well known to everyone does feel heady, doesn’t it?

To see your face in magazines, TV, and hoardings makes you well known to many people. And most importantly along with fame comes wealth, acknowledgement, and recognition.

This is the reason you feel depressed when fame keeps eluding you in spite you trying your level best.

“I am not as lucky as these famous people. I think I am destined to be a mediocre performer all through my life” you feel completely let down in your life. 

Let us suppose you are now facing the uphill task of achieving fame.

You work hard, driving yourself to the edge. But you keep facing continuous failures. Your mind screams in agony at the insults you experience in your life. There are times when you just want to let go your trying and slump into being a non-entity.

You are depressed that fame was not after all your cup of tea.

Yes!

The path towards fame is always hazardous and nerve wracking.

Now, let us peep into your life after fame

After achieving fame you feel at the top of the world. Your life style changes drastically. The things which seemed out of your reach becomes an easy buy.

Dollars pour in and you go higher and higher up in your status. You now mingle with most well-known celebrities. You become part of their social circle.

You have finally become a much sought after figure- a status you had aimed for so many years. You afford just about everything the world can offer.

Your loneliness after your fame

But, you are surprised when your fame brings loneliness into your life.

You feel something missing in your life as you become famous. You lose happiness in the things you acquire, because it so easy to get. You lose your privacy. Your personal life is under constant scanner. Paparazzi follow you wherever you go. Whatever you do becomes news.

You cannot be yourself. You have to project yourself as an always charming person, which you really are not.

You get so used to your fame that it no longer excites you. But you cannot afford to let go your celebrity status. It has become a part of you. Though fame no longer gives you happiness, you don’t want to let it go.

You keep on improving your social status.

To the outside world, you present a picture of incredible fame. But, your inner mind is always tensed and stressed. You cannot relax for a moment, as you have to be on your toes to retain your top spot. If you relax, you might slip into obscurity again. You cannot bear to even think of it.

After becoming famous, you cannot be your natural self. You have to put an artificial façade of being very confident and assertive, even when you are feeling low. Inwardly you long for the childishness you have lost.

You are literally swimming in money. But, you also feel lost that there is no one to care for you for what you really are. Everyone around you seek something from you.

How fame makes you lose your family and friends?

You do not seem to have time for your family. Your family also doesn’t seem to miss you. They now bask in the world of wealth and affluence your fame has given them. They have no time to think of you.

You long for the emotional support your family once gave you. But, they are busy enjoying the limelight your fame has given them. You intuitively feel the widening rift between you and your family.

As you move up the ladder of fame, you find your world becoming very lonely. Your old friends now find it difficult to interact with you as you have mentally distanced yourself away from them. You cannot include them in your high social status, you feel.

You lose your old circle of friends, as they feel emotionally distanced from you. ‘He has changed’ is the common comments you hear from them when you become famous.

An Indian actor who felt lonely after achieving the fame he dreamed of.

I was watching an interview with a famous film star in India. He had a big struggle, before he made it big in films.

“What are the differences you feel after achieving your success?” the interviewer asked.

“I was childlike before I became famous. Now I feel there is nothing childlike in me” the actor smiled wryly.

“I felt happy for innocuous things before I became successful. I constantly laughed. But strangely, I seemed to have lost the capacity of feeling happy after becoming famous. There are times I feel very lonely” the actor went on.

I was astonished to hear the famous actor saying that fame brings loneliness into your life.

Fame brings happiness doesn’t it?

Why was this famous film star saying that he had lost his happiness after acquiring incredible fame, that too after such a long struggle?

The answer is simple.

Like failure, fame is also a lonely world. When you failed, the world thrusts you aside as unworthy. But after becoming famous, you thrust aside people as not being equal to your now elevated social status.

You had always thought that fame will make you happy. But fame brings loneliness into your life. You are disappointed that it has made you feel very insecure and very uncertain.

You lose true friends who really cared for you. You move along with people who do not care for you, but are there with you for your fame and money.

Does this mean you should not aim to be famous?

Not at all.

You must aim for incredible fame in your life.

“You can’t reverse fame. You can lose all the money, but you’ll never lose people knowing you.” J. Cole

But you should be practical to realize that fame does not bring happiness into your life. It does give you a sense of achievement. But it comes with a price tag – a feeling of insecurity and loneliness.