Success comes at a price that no one tells you about: isolation.

You climb. Year after year. Sacrifices that become normal. And then you're there. At the top.

Your vocabulary has changed. You talk about EBITDA, stakeholders, strategic pivots. At home, the conversation is about the washing machine, school reports, ordinary things that suddenly feel unreal and far away.

You can share your specific knowledge, which you have studied and sacrificed for years, with fewer and fewer people. Your partner sees someone who is physically present but mentally operating on another continent.

The gradual loss, you don't always notice it... You lose touch. Not dramatically. Gradually. A forgotten birthday. A missed outing because there's a crisis. An emotional moment that you "can't quite connect with" because your brain is already three steps ahead.

The home front supports the practice. You provide security and status. But intimacy? Reciprocity? Shared reality?

And then you meet someone who knows the same climate. Who understands what it takes to be responsible for hundreds of people. Who recognizes the pressure, the sleepless nights, the endless deliberations.

For the first time in months, you feel seen. Not as a job title. As a human being.

The desire to no longer be alone is not weak. It is so human.

What helps?

Come down regularly. Not just physically to your home, but mentally to reality. Put your phone away. Be present. Really.

Seek reciprocity. If your partner supports the practice, you support emotional availability. As an equal commitment.

Build bridges. Translate your world. Share what's on your mind with your partner.

Success without connection is an empty victory. An office with a beautiful view and no one to share it with.

The question is not whether you want to stay at the top. The question is: who will you be there with?

Because perhaps it is not the height that makes us lonely, but forgetting to use the bridge that connects us.