Embracing Your Own Narrative Amid Others' Perceptions

Recently, I wrote something that struck a chord — not just with others, but with myself. It centered around a simple yet profound truth: you’ll never fully meet the version of yourself that exists in someone else’s mind.

Think about that. Every person you encounter walks away with a slightly different image of you. To some, you’re uplifting. To others, maybe a challenge. Some people remember your laughter, others your silence. And sometimes, what they remember most isn’t what you said or did, but how they felt when they were around you.

This idea reminds us of how fragmented identity really is. We like to think of ourselves as having a fixed “self,” a clear narrative, a through-line that others can follow. But the reality is much messier. We’re different things to different people — not because we’re being fake or inconsistent, but because perception is always filtered. People only see slices of you — snapshots that fit into their own storyline, their own worldview.

When I voiced that message, I wasn’t trying to give an answer. I was trying to spark reflection. Because if we chase the goal of being perfectly understood or universally liked, we’re running toward something we’ll never catch. No one sees the whole version of you, the quiet battles, the growth, the intentions. All they see is what happened in the overlap between their story and yours.

And that’s okay.

What matters more is the story you tell yourself. How you define who you are when no one else is watching. That internal voice, the one that speaks when the world goes quiet, is the only one with access to your whole truth.

That’s where real power lies.

So why does this matter? Because in a world where we’re constantly judged, reviewed, remembered, or forgotten, it’s grounding to remember this: you don’t get to write your role in someone else’s story. But you do get to write your own.

That’s the version that counts.