The stories we tell about the world, and about our place in it shape our identity and our understanding of what is possible. Language and narratives used to inform policy making, to address the significant challenges facing marine ecosystems, can influence how we work, anticipate change, define acceptable solutions and collaborate. Existing narratives about the future of the Great Barrier Reef often emphasise people and their activity as threats to the ecosystem, as recipients of negative consequences of environmental change or as potential barriers to implementation. Drawing on observations from recent applied social research in the GBR, this paper argues that building our collective capacity to adapt requires revisiting and expanding on these narratives about the Reef’s future. Expanded stories are needed that reposition communities, industries and others as active partners, beneficiaries and positive agents of change for the Reef. Doing so can help open new possibilities and inform our efforts to build adaptive capacity for managing future change and uncertainty.