How often do we get the chance to look at the psychology of what it takes to sustain the dream? I think it's too easy to fall into this trap where we immediately blast a guy like Larry for leaving a job that any real basketball fan would kill for in a heartbeat. Like we can't accept as a society that you can make millions of dollars and suffer from mental illnesses. Yet in the world of celebrities, the ones we as a society worship and idolize for their god-like auras, a growing trend is forming where the ones we considered the most loved and happiest were the ones who felt like suicide was the only answer.
How many childhood heroes have we lost because depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses weren't taken seriously? I believe enough people can identify with working a job with enough pressure and stress that you constantly live at the breaking point--at the edge of sanity -- but choosing to step away from it -- means losing everything with all the negative labels attached to that choice. But choosing to stay, even at the cost of your psychological welfare, means you're forever redlining -- constantly living your life in the danger zone.
And loved ones feel it too.
My mom has spent 50% of her life working 10 hour days at the same job she hated, only to have to leave work to start her other job as a full-time mom raising three children. As much as she tried to make it appear like life was normal, for almost three decades, she sacrificed her mental and physical well-being to ensure that her children would enjoy the same luxuries as other middle-class families. I look back and I realize that I never understood how well we had it. I was, and still am, part of a culture who feels like what I have is never enough. But looking back, I would have traded all of it if it meant that she could experience the same internal satisfaction and happiness that she wrapped around herself like a costume, preventing her family from seeing the self-destruction that was really occurring.
I don't believe for a minute that Sanders treated this situation perfectly, or that hes excusable for his unprofessional behavior. That being said, this video offers insight into a man who has experienced the dream, suffered, understood the toll it took on his mental well-being, and left despite all of the consequences and public shaming. Call him selfish, but I call him intelligent and respect him for making this decision. Especially because he can do what he loves now, and doesn't have that financial insecurity or stress in his life anymore that would cause him to alienate or hurt himself.
Anybody who is interested in exploring the subject of happiness and sustaining the American dream should pick up the book "Empire of Illusion" by NYT bestseller Chris Hedges. It's written in lay-man language so it's easy to read, yet it's done in a sophisticated manner with plenty of well-researched sources.