Owning It

I added my newest work adventure to my LinkedIn profile. Because it is a part of me now. And certainly should be when people look me up.

And then, in a heartbeat, that adventure ended. Promotion? Kind of…or not…

But as awkward as it may be to be fielding warm wishes on my “promotion,” when I’m basically back to being the same person I was before, I remind myself of the nights of learning all sorts of new equipment and routines. I remind myself of the wee hours when a piece of machinery malfunctioned and I went from needing to call a support person to simply figuring it out myself. I remind myself that what started as “filling a hole” ended with my sitting in the chair, doing the job, taking responsibility for the pace and the elements and the look. Not as a seat filler. But because  it was now my job to do that.

It’s often easy, even natural, to play down the jobs that we do, and the things that we accomplish. If they aren’t accompanied by a title or more money or people’s recognition, did they really happen? Do they really matter, or mean anything?

But as I ponder what to do next with my LinkedIn, and my life, I remind myself that— 

I own the way I learned to troubleshoot machinery issues.

I own the fact that I trained my hands to hit the necessary buttons, and my eyes to look in the necessary places, when at first glance, I wasn’t sure I would ever have that coordination.

I own the confidence I developed in knowing how to do, how to fix, and how to teach.

I own my journey from trainee to teammate and leader.

Because in the end, who we are is about more than just what the world labels us. It’s about letting ourselves take the credit for what we have accomplished. Not simply by putting it on a resume or a LinkedIn profile. But by owning it.