Today, write about a word like “just,” “only,” (or a phrase like “sorry to bother you but…”) that will pretty much never look/sound terribly empowered to you. Is it a word/phrase you hear regularly, or one you catch yourself saying? Write into it, and examine how the word/phrase operates in terms of who is socialized to use it to stay small, the cost of not using it, and what dynamics is hides when everyone accepts it as normal or expected?
For example, one that drives me bananas is the ol’ “I just wanted to ask if…” instead of just asking the damn question outright. It’s “I just wanted to ask if you could send me the draft of the manuscript” versus “Could you send me the draft of the manuscript?” See the difference? Way more confident and direct! Way, way better.
If you’re stuck and want to interrogate this in yourself in a way that will make you cringe, go to your email and search “I think” or “I just” and see what turns up.
Let’s write.
