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8 uw ° =z = Ss = THE J 2 USING ‘JUST’ CAN MINIMIZE ONE'S FEELINGS OR CONCERNS, WRITES MELANIE MCGREGOR le Beaver | Thursday, October 20, 2022 | MELANIE MCGREGOR Column You know those recom- mendations to use oxCa. mation marks ‘ingly and avoid emoiis, Th n work emails? Yeah ... [pretty much ig- nore both of those on a dai- ly basis. And Inotice some- — I tend to use the word " just" a lot. If I'm checking it in with someone on something they are supposed to do, ae sound something like Hey! Just wondering how that thing is coming ong. aon ist let me know! Thanks! (insert smiley face)." That's three excla- mation marks, one emoji, T Ceaite using these “justs" to soften things a bit — like saying I'm not nag- ging or bugging, I'm just checking in. And they don't have to snap to doing that thing — all I want is a sta- tus update. However, I'm also aware of how the word "just" can sound minimizing or dis- € missive. 2 It's something to be § mindful of when talking § about what we feel, think, 3 want and need. 2 BANISHING -WORD cide to talk to your supervi- sor. You start off assertive- ly with something like "I've been finding it hard to keep up lately.” Then, y you throw in the}. word Tm ju stressed eee "It's just st lot" or "T'm just letting you know." ike in my emails, “just" may be intended to present things a bit gently, but it actually suggests that being stressed out, having a lot to do or point- ing it out aren't actually important. It could give the super visor an opening to put it all aside because its “just you. So banish the “just.” Have the confidence to state what's on your mind with "I'm stressed out," "It's a lot" jor "I'm letting you know. And try to avoid the “just" with others as well. tt sounds like you're up- set" is better than "You're just upset about what hap- pened,” and "You seem down" is better than “You're probably just sad.” Focus on the feelings with- out minimizing the to show that what they are ex- periencing is important. One little word can make a big difference. Melanie McGregor is the communications and advancement specialist at the Canadiai Health “Association Halton Region Branch, which provides mental health/ addiction community sup- nd education. Visit poi halton. cnn ca for more information and fo ollow @cmhahalton on Tw TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT INSIDEHALTON.COM SNAPSHOT Tony Buys photo A female goldfinch visits a backyard on Romain Crescent. Do you have a great local photo you'd like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief description. DEMENTIA CAN BE A FINANCIAL RISK Managing personal fi- nances can be complicated even when you are mental- ly alert. If your cognitive ed declines, then man- financial affairs could shift from difficult to impossibe. heimer Society of Cae an Preentl issueda report titled Navigating the Path Forward for De mentia in Canada. It stated by 2030, almost one million people wie have some form of dem . That repre- sents a 651 ee cent increase luring this current many financial challenges for individuals. Those affected will need to rely on others to make fi- nancial decisions on their behalf: oom can be done er of attorney baorky fort property. Do you a POA or have some- one who could fill that role? y 2050, it is estimated LT million Canadians will PETER WATSON Column have dementia, That will re than 690,000 full-tim time sobs to provide as- sistance. Will you beable to afford these costs? Do you have a child available to help? If a parent moves to as- sisted living, this will re- quire additional expenses. Is this option affordable’ 2 Will one parent remain in the family home and is that affordable? Growing old is part of life. Our challenge now is to plan. Peter Watson is regis- tered with Aligned Capital Partners Inc. (ACPI) to provide investment advice Investment products ai provided by ACPI. "ACPI i is a member of the Invest- ment Industry Regulatory Organization of Can The opinions ee are those of the author and not necessarily those of ACPI. Only investment-related products and services are offered through Watson Securities of ACPI. Watson provides wealth manage- ment services through Watson Investments. He can be reached at wat- soninvestments.com. SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT INSIDEHALTON.COM This newspaper, published very Thursday, isa is so of pli, a brite ‘owned iene of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprise more than 70 community oilendone across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concems to the attention of the newspaper and, if not satis- fied, write The Nati ional New- sMedia Council, Suite 200, ie fons St aoa ON M4W 2H2, 10-1981 Web: ink edenounllea insidehalton@metroland.com facebook.com/OakvilleBeav @OakvilleBeaver WHO WE ARE a and Operations Dana Rol Regional Genera Manager Jason Pehor Director of Sontot Regional Mareaing Editor Catherine O'Hara Managing Editor faen Miceli Circulation Manager Kim Mossman rectors of Advertising Cindi Campbell and Graeme Macintosh Director Creative Services Paul Gostlin CONTACT US 901 Guelph Line Burlington, ON L7R 3N8 Phone: 905-845-3824 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 Advertising: 289-293-0620 am ait delivery inquiries, please lossman@metroland.com or all 905-631-6095. Letters to the editor Send letters to insidehalton@metroland.com. All letters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. 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