[Marital Relations] A man's self-righteous pride doesn't actually protect anyone

I am a capable person at work.
I was promoted quickly among my peers.

But, I feel like there is
a bit of distance between my wife and me.

Perhaps, that might be
because of my high pride.

Regarding the school paperwork for our child,
my wife said, "You should do it early."

Even without my wife telling me,
I thought I knew. I thought I would do it later.

In the end, I forgot and missed the deadline.

My wife didn't say anything.
But, I could tell by looking at her face.

I made excuses, saying "It couldn't be helped."

My wife sighed.

My relationships at work were becoming strained.

My wife suggested, "Why don't you consult your boss once?"
It annoyed me.

I said, "I know," and brushed it off.
I felt that consulting my boss

would make it seem like I couldn't solve it myself.

In the end, it became even more strained later.

I couldn't tell my wife.

There was something common to both situations.

My wife was right.

But, I didn't want to admit it.

My face as a man
would not allow it.

Changing because my wife told me to,
I thought that was losing.

One night, my wife said quietly,

"Even when I talk to you, I don't feel like I'm getting through."

She wasn't blaming me.
She just looked tired and lonely.

Those words wouldn't leave my head.

Was I not getting through?

No, she was getting through, but
I wasn't receiving it.

Ignoring my wife's advice
meant that I was not respecting my wife.
That was what was pushing my wife away from me.

In the first place, by not receiving my wife's words,

the opportunity for me to grow
was also being lost.
While intending to protect my pride,

I was widening the distance with my wife
and narrowing my own possibilities.

I was
desperate to protect my man's pride.
However,

protecting my man's pride
was not protecting my wife,
and it was not protecting myself either.
Pride for the sake of appearances

had no real meaning.

I, who wrote this article,
am still under that spell myself.

I understand the mechanism well.
However, that does not mean I have solved it.

My wife's perspective is in the following article.