For a while I held a key position in a national organization. I was a very prominent member of the inner circle. My name was known to thousands. I was held in high regard and had the ear of those who ran the organization. Within the organization I was a celebrity.
At no time did I feel “important” in the sense that I think you mean. I never felt like hot stuff. I never felt as if I could look down on anyone. I was never impressed with my influence or the significance of my role.
Holding that position essentially meant four things to me:
1. I had made a very large commitment, and what concerned me most was the amount of responsibility I had.
2. I knew that decisions I made could affect other people to a considerable degree, probably as much as or more than when I was a manager in a business setting. I took that very seriously.
3. People I didn’t know wanted my attention a lot. I didn’t really like that part very much. I hated having people act as if they were excited just to talk to me or as if I owed them something extra because of who I was. From this relatively trivial experience I think I learned something about why celebrities like to hang out with other celebrities.
4. Some people were inclined to attach extraordinary significance to things I said and did. That meant I had to be careful and think about what I said to whom about what. I couldn’t just behave like an ordinary person. My gestures were magnified like those of an actor in closeup on the big screen.
I was fine with points 1 and 2, and I loved the work and was good at it, but points 3 and 4 made me very uncomfortable much of the time, especially in public situations. I was glad enough when it was over.