I asked a shrink: 'Everything is so great. Why am I still so

Host: The room was still, the quiet of the evening wrapping around them like a soft blanket. Jack sat by the window, his fingers lightly drumming on the armrest, lost in his thoughts. Jeeny, across from him, sat with a cup of tea, her gaze thoughtful but distant. The evening light had faded, leaving behind the soft glow of the room, and in the silence between them, something unspoken seemed to linger.

Host: Mike Nichols’ words drifted into the stillness: “I asked a shrink: ‘Everything is so great. Why am I still so angry?’ He said, ‘Anger doesn't go away.’ I always thought it was kind of a good engine.” The simplicity of the statement, and the candid reflection on anger as both a force and a tool, seemed to carry a weight. The idea that anger, often seen as something destructive, could also be something useful—an engine, a motivator—felt like a paradox worth exploring.

Jeeny: She looked up from her tea, her voice soft, but thoughtful: “You ever think about anger like that? As something that drives us, as a kind of engine for change or action? Nichols’ question makes sense, doesn’t it? Even when everything is going well, there’s still that undercurrent of anger, that feeling that pushes us forward, even if we don’t know exactly why it’s there.”

Jack: His voice was reflective, the thought clearly turning over in his mind: “I get it. We’re often told to avoid anger, that it’s a negative emotion, something to be overcome. But what if it’s more complicated than that? What if anger is just a force—a way to engage with the world when things aren’t right? Nichols' perspective is interesting. Maybe anger isn’t something to be eliminated, but something to be channeled. It’s part of who we are, and it can drive us to do things we wouldn’t otherwise do.”

Jeeny: She nodded, her smile small but knowing: “Exactly. Anger, when understood, can be a tool. It can push us to act, to change things, to fight for something we believe in. But it’s tricky, isn’t it? The line between using it for growth and letting it spiral into something destructive is thin. If we don’t understand it, if we let it control us, it can lead to bitterness, resentment, and exhaustion. But if we can channel it, use it as an engine, then it’s not just an emotion—it’s a force for change.”

Host: The room seemed to grow quieter, the conversation taking on a deeper, more introspective tone. The idea that anger, often seen as something to be avoided, could also be a motivator, a driving force behind action, was both unsettling and liberating. It was a reminder that emotions, even those we tend to see as negative, had their purpose, their own role to play in how we experience the world and how we respond to it.

Jack: His voice was almost softer now, as though he was considering the deeper implications: “Maybe that’s the problem with anger. We’re taught to push it down, ignore it, but maybe it’s trying to tell us something. Maybe it’s not always about being angry, but about being aware of what that anger is pointing to, and what it can drive us to do. If we don’t acknowledge it, we miss its potential. If we do, it can become something that moves us, that pushes us to change.”

Jeeny: She smiled again, her voice filled with calm, but also understanding: “Exactly. It’s all about how we manage it, how we use it. Anger doesn’t have to be destructive. It can be the fire that lights the path forward, that pushes us toward something better. The key is knowing when to let it fuel us, and when to step back and let it cool down.”

Host: The evening seemed to stretch on, but the conversation had opened a new way of thinking about anger—not as something inherently bad, but as a force that, when understood and channeled properly, could become a tool for change and growth. The quiet realization that anger, like any emotion, could be used constructively, had settled between them like a new truth. Jack and Jeeny sat together, knowing that sometimes, even the most difficult emotions, when acknowledged and understood, could be the catalyst for something better.