The holidays can be a super-challenging time for many men. The spending of money on often superfluous gifts. Trying to be “joyful” with your partner when you’re not. The sense of obligation to be on your best behavior. It can all leave a guy dreading the holidays. Yet these are the mere symptoms. The real source of a man’s dread is the sense that […]
Many years into my marriage, my sex drive was 10 times my wife’s. I wondered if I was a sex addict. So, to find out, I went to a therapist specializing in sex addiction. After an hour, he said, “No, you’re not a sex addict. You’re just a regular dude with a healthy sex drive.” I saw him, motivated by […]
Jay, a high-earning manufacturing CEO, has daily challenges at work but nothing he can’t handle. Yet at home with his wife, he’s exasperated, at his wit’s end. “She expects me to read her mind. And when I don’t, she freaks on me,” he says. “I don’t know how much longer I can put up with this.” I listen, thinking there […]
Maybe you’ve had this experience. You met your wife. You fell in love. And then somewhere during the course of your marriage, she turned sour on you. You no longer experience openness from her. She’s not as chill or go with the flow as she used to be. She doesn’t appreciate you the way she once did. She even outright […]
“Happy wife, happy life.” “It’s your job to make her happy.” “If Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” No doubt you’ve heard one or all of these expressions. Maybe one of these voices lives in your head. How do you make your wife happy? Every month I talk to guys who approach their marriage as a “wife happy-making” endeavor. They […]
“Is my marriage fixable?” Dave, a senior-level IT executive, asks me. He wants guidance. He wants reassurance. He’s a man who thrives with a plan. How do you know if your marriage can be fixed? Of course, no one has a crystal ball looking into the future. Still, having coached men in relationship for the last 15 years, there are […]
Nate has reached his breaking point. He’s fed up. He crushes it as a CEO of a tech company by day. But can’t control his wife. “Goddamnit she’s gonna give it to me. I’m sick of this crap.” Nate’s Scottish complexion goes red. “I hear your emotion, Nate,” I say. “But how would you feel if somebody were saying those […]
So, there’s this trap we guys often fall into. I call it the “fixer trap.” And when we’re in the fixer trap, we want to be “the guy.” You’re the guy who saves the day. The guy who makes things ok for her. The guy who is strong and capable for his partner. And the guy she needs us to […]
Make it right. Let her know you care. Show her you love her. Do you do these things in your marriage? Most guys do. It comes with great intention. But often, it’s done too late. And merely a response to having upset your wife in the first place. Maybe you didn’t listen to her properly. Maybe you forgot to make […]
Love is blind is a cliché. And yet there is some truth to it. Consider Zack. You may have hung out with him before. You know that guy who’s clearly getting beat up by his wife (she yells at him, gets hysterical, complains about him nonstop) yet he still blames himself for all their marital problems? “If only I could… […]
