Proud
On Wednesday I went to the North American International Auto Show in Detroit during the Industry Preview. I go just about every year for work and it is always fun to check out the cars, but this year I was really excited. Over the last several years I've been leading the development a new system which is launching for the first time on the 2013 Toyota RAV4. This is what I have spent my work days (and many nights) doing, what I've stressed over, what I moved to Japan for.
As soon as I entered the Auto Show I headed toward the Toyota booth. As I approached the video display screens above the vehicles were displaying images of the RAV4 and my heart swelled a bit.
It was so cool seeing the car. Of course I've worked on it during evaluations and seen the car being built at our plant, but seeing it for the first time out in public watching people looking at it and taking pictures of it was really awesome. Being the dork I am of course I asked someone to take a photo of me with the car.
There is really something special about taking something that is a concept to some diagrams on paper to prototypes and finally to production parts on a vehicle. I struggled through obstacles, came up with creative solutions, pushed through despite a demanding schedule and in the end launched something that I will admit I am very proud of.
I really debated about writing this post. Often times it is hard for me to admit to being proud of accomplishments and I think it is pretty common for other women to struggle with this as well. Many times I've seen one of my girlfriends do something amazing and then just shrug it off saying it is no big deal. There seems to be an unspoken pressure for women to minimize achievements for fear of looking like bragging but we should really encourage each other to give ourselves permission to feel proud of a job well done.
So now that I've given up the goods on myself, tell me, what are you proud of? It can be anything from something creative that you do, a work accomplishment, an obstacle you've overcome, a personal achievement or anything else that you have done that makes you smile when you think of it. Don't be shy! You deserve to be proud!
Friday, January 18, 2013 at 7:20AM | Posted by Lisa | 15 Comments | Share Article | Email Article | Print Article 
Reader Comments (15)
This is so neat! You should be proud. You are so talented in so many diverse ways - amazing. Thank you for sharing the story of your hard work paying off!
Congratulations, that's awesome! I have followed you for years and sometimes wondered about your work. Engineer + Toyota = probably something with cars ;-), but that's as far as I could think... You are right, most women don't dare to be proud (including myself) - but they should be! Most of the time they have to be better at work as men, to get the same praise/rewards/etc.
I have gotten better at 'blowing my own horn' at work and it pays off - I get asked more often to participate in interesting projects. (I work as a lawyer for the government.)
Congratulations! It must be so exciting to see all your hard work on display ;-) Now you see....you have something maybe not so ordinary (but rather spectacular!) to document about your life. Told ya, your days are worth documenting. Congrats again!!
How fantastic, Lisa! You *should* be proud of yourself for such a great accomplishment!
I actually wish more women would take credit for the great things they make happen. It makes us feel good to follow something through from beginning to end, and sharing those successes with others just make them sweeter. I don't look at it as bragging, but rather as something to be happy about together. Congratulations!
Ok first---congrats! I am the proud owner of a Rav 4 (about two years old).
Love Toyotas!!!
Second, I will brag. I passed all the parts of the CPA exam in one sitting. Everyone told me that I would not be able to do it but I did. (worked bloody hard for five months straight to do it)
Speaking of Accounting, my Freshman class in college started with 41 Accounting majors and we graduated with 17 and I was one of them.
Everyone else had dropped out of the major. I was determined to stick with it even though everyone told me that I would not make it through.
Well I did. I went on to get a Masters in Accounting as well. I have to say that was the easiest compared with a Bachelors and the CPA. Although easy is probably not a good word but I understood everything better in those masters classes after working for a few years.
There---that is my bragadocious rant. Thank you! That felt great!
Very cool! You should be proud of all your hard work, go ahead and toot your own horn! I, too figured you worked for Toyota, it's neat to find out what you've been working on.
I work in HR, so it's pretty rare when things I work on have such obvious results. I think one of my proudest accomplishments was a few years ago when the company I work for was acquired by a larger company. I had to basically learn my job all over again (new policies/procedures/benefits) in a short amount of time. It was an interesting time, but I made it through relatively unscathed!
Congratulations Lisa on your enormous achievement. You have reason to feel proud, and enjoy the praise that comes with a job (very) well done. Love your smile!:)
That's Amazing! Congratulations! I am awed that you built something milions of people will be driving all over the world. That's impressive! My husband and I had rented the Rav4 while we were in New Zealand recently. We had a lot of fun with it after we got over our apprehension of driving on the the right-hand side.
I am hoping my proudest accomplishment will be born within the next 3 weeks? ;)
What an amazing accomplishment!!! This is so great. Congratulations. You are truly talented!
Love the cars design, I think I want one.
congratulations Lisa - well done.
Congratulations Lisa on a job well done! What a great sense of accomplishment to finally see the fruit of your labors and to know that many will benefit from your efforts.
I agree with you that as women, we often struggle celebrating our own accomplishments. A couple of years ago I was named Secondary Teacher of the Year for our school district and I really struggled with the title, given that so many amazing teachers work at my school and district. But I've come to accept this amazing recognition as I remind people that I am a thankful representative of a great number of dedicated teachers in our district.
Once again and congratulations on a job well done!
Cindy- Thank you so much! You are so sweet!
Edith- Thank you! Good for you for enabling yourself to get recognized for your work. I'm sure that getting the more interesting work is very rewarding!
Laura- Thank you! I will definitely be including this in my scrapbooking.
Sandy- Thank you! I completely agree that taking something from the beginning to the end is very rewarding.
Kathy- Thank you! That is awesome that you stuck things out in a challenging degree and then passed your exam on your first try! It's funny how someone telling you that you can't do something can be a catalyst to work even harder and make sure that you do it. Congratulations!
Hilary- Thank you! That is awesome that you were able to completely change your process at work and get up to speed so quickly. My sister spent a few years working in HR, and based on her stories I can only imagine what a challenge that would have been for you. Good for you!
Linda- Thank you! I was pretty darn smiley that day!
Ethylene- Thank you! I remember before that you mentioned you were expecting. That is exciting that it is so soon! Congratulations again!
Orlanda- Thank you! I work in electronics so I had nothing to do with the design, but I like it, too!
Mary-Lou- Thank you so much!
Isabel- Thank you! That is so awesome that you were Secondary Teacher of the Year for your school district! It must be so rewarding to know that you have such an impact on your students. Congratulations!
Congratulations, Lisa! You have every right to be proud. Thanks for sharing.
Kim- Thank you so much!