This is part of the Layers of Performance framework: Click Here to read the introduction.
The next layer in the Layers of Performance framework is our personal talents. These are sometimes referred to as our capacities or thinking patterns. These thinking patterns are the way we filter information and make value judgements and decisions. It is not our values, but rather, how we assign value to the world around us and ourselves within that world.
We each have our own unique pattern of thought and this pattern provides a construct through which we view the world. This construct helps us to form our decisions by acting as a filter that places value and focus on different stimuli we interact with. For example, some people have a great ability to see system and order. To them, the world is a series of flowcharts, an interconnected matrix of order and structure. While others might be more geared toward understanding others, that is, they are able to perceive and interpret other people’s feelings, thoughts and concerns.
Whatever our natural thinking patterns are, they form a part of the foundation from which we can increase our performance and success. In order to reach our fullest potential, we need to explore our thinking patterns and attempt to understand how they are different to other people’s. With an understanding of how we can each skew our reality through our thinking patterns, we are better prepared for understanding why some people have a “natural talent” for one thing, while another naturally excels in different arena.