2024: The Year I Stopped Saying “Just” and Started Standing Taller

At the start of 2024, I made a quiet resolution. No fanfare. No Instagram post. I didn’t even tell my husband.

I decided to stop using the word “just.”

It had crept into my vocabulary like a weed. Harmless at first glance, but slowly choking the confidence out of my communication.
“I just work at a school…”
“I just wanted to follow up…”
“Just wondering if…”

And the biggest culprit:

“I Just feel that…”

I realized I was constantly shrinking myself. I was using it to soften the blow of my opinion and feelings. I was downplaying my role. Minimizing every statement. Make an allowance for myself before I’d even said anything.

So I let the word go. While some people have a resolution or a word of the year, I had a subtraction and something powerful happened.

Without “just,” I became more confident in work. I spoke clearly, boldly, and with purpose. I stopped justifying my presence in rooms where I was called to be. I stopped second-guessing emails. I stopped introducing my God-given gifts with disclaimers.

Because here’s the truth: God didn’t call me to be just anything.

He didn’t whisper purpose into my life only for me to dilute it with hesitation. Scripture says, “Let your yes be yes, and your no, no” (Matthew 5:37). That’s the kind of clarity and confidence I began to walk in.

Now, as a soon-to-be bakery business owner, especially one building something rooted in faith, family, and service, that shift changed everything. I began to see that communicating with strength isn’t prideful. It’s conviction. It’s honoring the gifts God has placed in my hands and the work He’s asked me to steward.

No one knew I had made the change. But I did.

And it changed the way I talked about my work, the way I advocated for myself, the way I advocated for children, and the way I trusted God to open doors without feeling the need to tiptoe through them.

So here’s my encouragement to you:

If you’re a woman in business, in ministry, or in motherhood, try dropping the word “just” for a week. See how it feels to take up your full, God-given space. Speak with authority, not apology.

Last night I shared an opinion on something so unimportant and it was rejected. It reminded me of the days I used to be so concerned with togetherness I shrunk my own ideas and opinions. I was an era where I put my own views and feelings aside. It inspired me to write this post. I have come far since that time.

It made me remember: I was never meant to be “just” anything. I was made to shine. I think God wants that for you too.