--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are defined by the stories we tell…" description: "\"We are defined by the stories we tell ourselves.\" — Tony Robbins" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85a/tony-robbins-232_defined_we-are-defined-by-the-stories-we-tell-ou_2507418.jpg" --- # We are defined by the stories we tell ourselves. ![“We are defined by the stories we tell ourselves.” quote by Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85a/tony-robbins-232_defined_we-are-defined-by-the-stories-we-tell-ou_2507418.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85a/tony-robbins-232_defined_we-are-defined-by-the-stories-we-tell-ou_2507418.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85a/tony-robbins-232_defined_we-are-defined-by-the-stories-we-tell-ou_2507418.jpg) > “We are defined by the stories we tell ourselves.” [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our identity is shaped by the narratives we construct about ourselves, influencing behavior and outcomes. **In simple terms:** Stories we tell ourselves define us. Key Takeaway Rewrite your inner story for growth. Themes self‑development psychology identity Mood motivational empowering Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - coaching sessions - self‑reflection - goal setting Key Concepts Narrative identity self‑concept behavioral change Questions to Reflect On - What story are you telling about yourself? - How can you shift that narrative? A Different Perspective Self‑limiting narratives can be hard to change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Defined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defined/) [Defined Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defined-stories-1122874/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Stories Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories-tell/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell/) ## Related quotes > [“There are stories to tell that are not songs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michka-assayas/there-are-stories-to-tell-that-are-not-songs/) [Michka Assayas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michka-assayas/) > [Everybody's got a different way of telling a story - and has different stories to tell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/everybody-s-got-a-different-way-of-telling-a-story-and-has-different/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) > [To be a person is to have a story to tell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/to-be-a-person-is-to-have-a-story-to-tell/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [This is my life - I want to tell stories. There is something huge inside me that pushes me to tell stories, and tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dario-argento/this-is-my-life-i-want-to-tell-stories-there-is-something-huge-inside/) [Dario Argento](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dario-argento/) > [I decide intuitively what I want to do. When directors like Imtiaz Ali, Ayan Mukerji, Anurag Basu and Anurag Kashyap, who have stories to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ranbir-kapoor/i-decide-intuitively-what-i-want-to-do-when-directors-like-imtiaz-ali/) [Ranbir Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ranbir-kapoor/) > [“The barbells and dumbbells you hold in your hands and the way you use them have stories to tell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-cecil/the-barbells-and-dumbbells-you-hold-in-your-hands-and-the-way-you-use/) [Craig Cecil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-cecil/) > [“so we had to tell our stories and they were stories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/so-we-had-to-tell-our-stories-and-they-were-stories/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [We can never tell what is in store for us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/we-can-never-tell-what-is-in-store-for-us/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [I guess I'm just inspired to tell stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-ocean/i-guess-i-m-just-inspired-to-tell-stories/) [Frank Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-ocean/) > [I always take a story that's kind of out there, like an urban myth. I take some possibility that people imagine, that they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/i-always-take-a-story-that-s-kind-of-out-there-like-an-urban-myth-i/) [Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/) > [We are the storytelling animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/we-are-the-storytelling-animal/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“But I have already told the beginning, so right now it's the middle. And Zeb is in the middle of the story about Zeb.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/but-i-have-already-told-the-beginning-so-right-now-it-s-the-middle/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“We take creative license with the fictional narratives that become our memories. Anthologized, these are the tales that become the story of your life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-ganek/we-take-creative-license-with-the-fictional-narratives-that-become/) [Danielle Ganek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-ganek/) > [Some stories, you use up. Others use you up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/some-stories-you-use-up-others-use-you-up/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [If you do weave one-liners into a story, you have to have an overall story as well, otherwise it doesn't really count as narrative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-vine/if-you-do-weave-one-liners-into-a-story-you-have-to-have-an-overall/) [Tim Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-vine/) ## More by Tony Robbins > [The only people without problems are in cemeteries. If you don't have problems, get on your knees and pray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/the-only-people-without-problems-are-in-cemeteries-if-you-don-t-have/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [When you feel you have good although incomplete expertise, start trying things. If it's not working, try something else; maintain an experimental mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/when-you-feel-you-have-good-although-incomplete-expertise-start/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [Without a vision there is no possibility of creating something larger than what al-ready exists. An entrepreneur has to be able to bring something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/without-a-vision-there-is-no-possibility-of-creating-something-larger/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [Our beliefs are like the unquestioned commands, telling us how things are, what's possible and what's impossible, what we can and can not do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/our-beliefs-are-like-the-unquestioned-commands-telling-us-how-things/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [Decisions decide destiny, there is no action without decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/decisions-decide-destiny-there-is-no-action-without-decision/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [With goals you can create the future in advance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/with-goals-you-can-create-the-future-in-advance/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/one-reason-so-few-of-us-achieve-what-we-truly-want-is-that-we-never/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [How do you turn the invisible into the visible? The first step is to define your dream precisely; the only limit to what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/how-do-you-turn-the-invisible-into-the-visible-the-first-step-is-to/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [Think of your mind, your emotions, and your spirit as the ultimate garden. The way to ensure a bountiful, nourishing harvest is to plant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/think-of-your-mind-your-emotions-and-your-spirit-as-the-ultimate/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [The message of frustration is an exciting signal. it means that your brain beleives you could be doing better than you currently are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/the-message-of-frustration-is-an-exciting-signal-it-means-that-your/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [I'm a strategist, not a motivator. I'm obsessed with finding strategies that create real results in the shortest period of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/i-m-a-strategist-not-a-motivator-i-m-obsessed-with-finding-strategies/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [“Leadership is producing a standard in someone that they will live by to produce higher level results consistently.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/leadership-is-producing-a-standard-in-someone-that-they-will-live-by/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [Whenever people have trouble public speaking, it's because they are just thinking about themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/whenever-people-have-trouble-public-speaking-it-s-because-they-are/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [Progress is the ultimate motivation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/progress-is-the-ultimate-motivation/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/if-you-do-what-you-ve-always-done-you-ll-get-what-you-ve-always-gotten/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) [Explore all 854 Tony Robbins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) ## More Defined quotes > [Christianity was never meant to be defined by its disciplines, but by its passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/christianity-was-never-meant-to-be-defined-by-its-disciplines-but-by/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [Jazz is not something that can be defined through blunt instruments. It is much more poetic than that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/jazz-is-not-something-that-can-be-defined-through-blunt-instruments/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [Among the many factors that make a return to halcyon days of the first decades of the postwar era virtually impossible is the decline…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gilpin/among-the-many-factors-that-make-a-return-to-halcyon-days-of-the/) [Robert Gilpin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gilpin/) > [One of the noblest words in our language is "grace," defined as "unearned blessing." We live by grace far more than by anything else.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/one-of-the-noblest-words-in-our-language-is-grace-defined-as-unearned/) [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) > [If it comes to a question of law, the charges they brought against me - the Espionage Act - is called the quintessential political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-it-comes-to-a-question-of-law-the-charges-they-brought-against-me/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [ The self is defined psychologically as the psychic totality of the individual. Anything that a \[person\] postulates as being a greater totality than \[oneself\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-self-is-defined-psychologically-as-the-psychic-totality-of-the/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Historically, usury was defined as any interest whatever on an unproductive loan.Our whole banking system I have ever abhorred, I continue to abhor, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/historically-usury-was-defined-as-any-interest-whatever-on-an/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [Marriage and the creation of families has been an integral part of our society since its creation; it should not be defined without the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-foster-bennett/marriage-and-the-creation-of-families-has-been-an-integral-part-of/) [Robert Foster Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-foster-bennett/) > [Before it can be solved, a problem must be clearly defined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-feather/before-it-can-be-solved-a-problem-must-be-clearly-defined/) [William Feather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-feather/) > [My life had been defined by the apartheid years. Now we were going into an era of democracy... and I believed that I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/athol-fugard/my-life-had-been-defined-by-the-apartheid-years-now-we-were-going/) [Athol Fugard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/athol-fugard/) > [If you think about basic science or coming up with new theories of mathematics, these are not the kinds of things which are necessarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/if-you-think-about-basic-science-or-coming-up-with-new-theories-of/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [Sometimes, I get afraid it has defined me, that sense of grief, loss and illness. But actually, it is about allowing myself to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-i-get-afraid-it-has-defined-me-that-sense-of-grief-loss-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [the most terribly human moments - the ones we want to pretend never happened - are the very moments that make us who we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-lawson/the-most-terribly-human-moments-the-ones-we-want-to-pretend-never/) [Jenny Lawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-lawson/) > [“We don't have to be defined by the things we did or didn't do in our past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pittacus-lore/we-don-t-have-to-be-defined-by-the-things-we-did-or-didn-t-do-in-our/) [Pittacus Lore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pittacus-lore/) > [This strongly asserted but ill-defined license to kill without accountability is not an entitlement which the United States or other states can have without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-alston/this-strongly-asserted-but-ill-defined-license-to-kill-without/) [Philip Alston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-alston/) [Browse all 1,532 Defined quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defined/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are defined by the stories we tell ourselves.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tony Robbins" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/we-are-defined-by-the-stories-we-tell-ourselves/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Defined" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/we-are-defined-by-the-stories-we-tell-ourselves/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85a/tony-robbins-232_defined_we-are-defined-by-the-stories-we-tell-ou_2507418.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85a/tony-robbins-232_defined_we-are-defined-by-the-stories-we-tell-ou_2507418.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85a/tony-robbins-232_defined_we-are-defined-by-the-stories-we-tell-ou_2507418.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are defined by the stories we tell ourselves.” — Tony Robbins", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Tony Robbins", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We are defined by the stories...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/we-are-defined-by-the-stories-we-tell-ourselves/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/we-are-defined-by-the-stories-we-tell-ourselves/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```