text: what is the difference between pride and self esteem?   i know a man whose pride will not allow him to forgive his wife's adultery... yet this same man has committed adultery with several females over time, but as his wife doesn't know, he sees her as being in the wrong. his pride will not allow forgiveness, so five years on, they live together in separates floors of their home, her affair goes on in the open still, she went back to him after punishment at home was never ending.   his affairs continue to flourish in small numbers. he plays away and so as she doesn't see, she doesn't know, and somehow, she is still wrong, because he's wiped from memory the ones he had before she joined the ranks.   pride blinds us to ourselves, it blinds us to the feelings and the needs of those we care about, and it is something that gets in the way of personal growth.  self esteem, now that's a very different thing, it is something that we all must have to cope with life's hurdles, the failed job application, the loss of lover, the loss of home and place and acceptance all require our self esteem to kick in, since only with it can we go onward and progress and turn tragedy and heartache, loss and humiliation all around.