I guess we all have different understanding and interpretations of words. For me, "pride" doesn't necessarily mean "ego" or "braggart." It doesn't mean snobbishness or condescension. However, how others perceive you is a different matter. Some people will dislike you simply by an announcement of "I did this." Getting a book published, having a baby, getting promoted at work. There's nothing you can do to control what other people think of you. What you can control is how you think of yourself.
There's a line between being self-confident, embracing your own light and being a braggart. There's a balance.
It's funny, Sharon, that you mentioned Asian culture. I was raised to "never brag, never told anyone about your great deeds and wonderfulness, and always be humble." I think there's absolute virtue in humbleness, and that we don't need other's approval or praises to be the light.
But I think the Chinese, for example, having been suppressed for so long and being subjected this philosophy, have become too withdrawn and repressive. Especially in that culture, it seems to me that the idea is not that everyone is the same, but that someone (be it an Emperor, a head of state, Chairman Mao) are the supreme being and everyone should be and are just ordinary. That's exactly how one man can control a billion. That kind of thinking has been ingrained in the Chinese culture for over 5000 years. There's certainly a class system, even if it's not explicitly defined: That one is only born special and divine; the rest is merely regular no matter what you do, and you can only rise above if someone above you allows it (e.g. many great men were only great because they were lifted by the Emperor).
As a very young, modern Chinese, I was totally confused by this feeling that I could do more.
I have struggled with this for a long time; while growing up, I yearned for my parents' praises, to let me know that I'd done something good, that I had pleased them. For someone like me, who believed that, from a young age, that he was a bit different, it was very difficult to "conform" and just be like everyone else. We don't encourage individualism. Duties and social obligations are more important. We believe in hard work but until someone else tells us "good job" we're just ordinary -- nothing, even. There's nothing special about us. Our light is all about being a good person and conform to the society and do our duties: be a good parent, be a good son, be a good worker.
As I grew up, and after I came to the US, I realized how psychologically and spiritually limiting that is. To feel that you're always less than who you are, that there's always someone bigger, better, and that you're only a small part of something, and that you're no different than everyone else. I find that philosophy suffocating and oppressive. It's not to say it's wrong and I'm right. But like you said, each of us should find our own ways, and what works for us. Clearly the Asian philosophy did not work for me.
Again, some people may see me as a braggart and an egotist. I can't really change other's perception. What I can change, however, is how I perceive myself and I how I always try to be better and be true to myself. That, I think, is what I'd call "pride." Not just be thankful, but be glad and proud of who we are and not let anyone else tell us otherwise. That is the meaning of "pride" to me.