Why I stopped saying “…but that’s just me”

Very often when we make our opinion known we end it with the phrase “…but that’s just me“.

To me, and that’s just me by the way, it reeks of a lack of confidence or truthfulness.

I find that a lot of times we shroud our uncertainty, even our evasion of responsibility, in the phrase.

Also, it conveys lack of assertiveness in a professional setting. I’ve never taken a statement that ends with “that’s just me” seriously.

What we could be really saying is “don’t take what I say as gospel truth, I could be wrong for all you know” or “Here’s what I’m saying but I cannot take the responsibility if things go awry“.

We can choose to take responsibility for what we say and what opinions we bring forward and the simple way of doing this is by choosing to only opine what we are reasonably confident about. Ok, that might not be so simple.

Another suggestion is to fully accept responsibility for the consequences of our opinions if they are to be taken seriously.

It’s like poker, you either know absolutely what you are doing and saying or you confidently act like you know what you are doing and you may not. If, in the latter case, your bluff is called, then you are ready to bear the consequences.

One word “man-up”.

What I now choose to say is “In my opinion…” or “My advice is…“.

My advice is that, in a world where perception is everything, if we are to be perceived seriously and command the respect of others in the process then we must be careful to project the persona we want perceived. In my opinion, that should be one of confidence.