The Power of the Just

“I just understood what they wanted and designed the product accordingly”

“I was just able to make it work’’

“I just took a few ideas and built the program around that”

 ‘’I just got them together and helped them sort out their problems’’

Just is a word I hear a lot. Said with a specific purpose in mind, that’s fine. If we are aiming for self-deprecation and intentionally deflecting excessive attention, then all well and good. Perhaps in a situation where I am attracting massive interest and praise for rescuing a baby from a burning building, or where my heroic efforts to sign a company-salvaging deal saved the organization from bankruptcy. “Just’’ is fine in those situations. And obviously in cultures where the self-effacing approach is the norm, the use of ‘’just’’ is perfectly understood.

Yet, when we use it consistently in relation to our own achievements, what are we saying about ourselves and what is the message we are reinforcing for ourselves? Are we selling ourselves short and putting ourselves down because we are afraid to shine? Or perhaps because we truly don’t believe what we did was worthy of attention? The (negative) power of the ‘’just’’ lies in its ability to belittle our achievements.

Whatever is going on in our minds, can we experiment with omitting the ‘’just’’? Can we let others hear the message plain and simple?

“I understood what they wanted and designed the product accordingly”

“I was able to make it work’’

“I took a few ideas and built the program around that”

‘’I got them together and helped them sort out their problems’’