Dr. Laura:

I've been listening to you for about a year.  You're now a voice in my head reminding me to "do the right thing" but also one MORE thing....

I am an over-user of the phrase "I just...."  You are absolutely correct about what you've pointed out to callers about that phrase, so I am making a conscious effort to remove it from my lexicon.  I have one more that I over-use - "I feel like..."  I've come to the conclusion that both of those qualifiers are used to soften what I and others are about to say.  It's a cop-out.   Instead of saying "I feel like...." I'm substituting "I believe," "I think," or "in my opinion."  

It's not easy to correct a way of speaking that, unfortunately, comes so naturally to me, but now that I'm conscious of it, I'm able to THINK before I speak, and then I replace those vague phrases with others that more accurately convey what I mean to say.
Thank you!

Vanessa