diff --git a/autojump.zsh b/autojump.zsh
index 3c40dc4..32912e4 100755
--- a/autojump.zsh
+++ b/autojump.zsh
@@ -23,4 +23,4 @@ preexec_functions+=autojump_preexec
 
 alias jumpstat="autojump --stat"
 
-function j { new_path="$(autojump $@)";if [ -n "$new_path" ]; then echo -e "\\033[31m${new_path}\\033[0m"; cd "$new_path";fi }
+function j { local new_path="$(autojump $@)";if [ -n "$new_path" ]; then echo -e "\\033[31m${new_path}\\033[0m"; cd "$new_path";fi }