The Story You Keep Telling Yourself
May 22, 2026
When was the last time you made a significant change in your life?
What made it hard?
This past week, I had the opportunity to take a step back and reflect on the direction my life and business were going.
As I was sitting in my office with my computer screen of notes and lists staring back at me, some things felt great.
Others not so much.
And so as I brainstormed, set goals, and made commitments to make changes… something interesting happened:
Doubt.
Could I really achieve that?
Was that goal really possible?
More importantly, am I good enough… or even smart enough… to do it?
That’s when it hit me:
In order to achieve these goals, I have to change the way I look at myself.
Because the truth is, the biggest obstacle is not my circumstances.
It’s not my challenges.
Or inconveniences.
My biggest obstacle is me. And the narrative I’m comfortable telling about myself.
Because if I think about it, either my narrative about myself is BIGGER than the obstacle in front of me, or it isn’t.
Either my narrative is BIGGER than my challenges and frustrations… and I can overcome them…or it is smaller, and I stay right where I am.
That’s the difference between overcoming obstacles, or staying stuck.
Your potential is limited only by the story you tell yourself.
I’m not the first person to bump into this. Not even close.
Helen Keller’s story about herself was bigger than blindness and deafness.
The Wright Brothers’ story about themselves was bigger than gravity itself.
Amelia Earhart’s story about herself was bigger than the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans put together.
Ernest Shackleton’s story about himself was bigger than the whole of Antarctica.
Rosa Parks’ story about herself was bigger than centuries of racial discrimination.
In these and countless other stories of endurance, faith, and ingenuity… people faced HUGE obstacles.
They faced insurmountable challenges.
And frankly, everyone else around them turned away, gave up, or shrugged their shoulders with indifference.
But what separated these people… from everyone else… is that they started with a story about themselves that was BIGGER than their obstacles.
And that’s how they changed the world.
So what is the story you tell about yourself?
Where are you playing small?
Your potential is limited only by the story you tell yourself. And though you don’t get to skip the hard chapters, you do get to write them.
What chapter are you writing today?
I can’t wait to read it.
Christian
CHRISTIAN HANSEN has gone behind the scenes in some of the biggest organizations in the world to find out the reasons why some people get chosen and why others don’t. As the #1 bestselling and LinkedIn Top Ten ranked author of “The Influence Mindset: The Art & Science of Getting People to Choose You” Christian helps teams and organizations who want to stand out and be the obvious choice. With degrees from Brigham Young University and The London School of Economics, he’s helped thousands of individuals position and sell themselves. A fan of international communication, history, and choral music, he currently lives in Utah with his family. Reach him at: TheChristianHansen.com
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