On Answers.com you’ll find the following definition
Skills—a proficiency, facility, or dexterity that is acquired or developed through training or experience.
I’ve separated my skills into two sets: work skills, and natural skills. My work skills are illustrated in my work accomplishments, but here, I list those skills acquired and developed within my life experiences—my natural skills. I apply these skills in all aspects of my life, and hence they form my approach to problem solving, risk taking, and life in general.
Synthesizing
I am very good at taking existing pieces and forming them together into new forms, possibilities, and relations. In a sense my skill is evidenced by a strong ability to recognize patterns. I almost always see the big picture as a collection of pieces. Because of this I’m skilled at seeing the possibilities, increasing efficiency or productivity, and thinking about how the future might unfold. However, mt skill is not to be confused with creating or making something out of nothing. I’m always at my best when I start with something.
As I seek ways to utilize my synthesize skills, I behave in many instances with a strong sense of intuition. Of course my emphasis is on recognizing patterns and linkages. But also, I present other qualities borne out of this desire to synthesize within my environment. Hence, it would not be unusual for others to describe me with the following:
- Analytical
- Experimental
- Inquisitive
- Conceptual
- Helpful at understanding complex options
- Helpful at understanding interrelated strategies
- Excellent at evaluating alternatives
- Original
- Clever
- Imaginative
- A good resource for solving difficult problems
Organizing
I like to sense the order of things, and to remember things by their place in the greater context of their existence. I’m comfortable organizing numbers, data, and details of all types. It’s not surprising that I performed well with finance and accounting functions as these played to my inner preferences. Because I’m an organizer, it is a natural result that I enjoy planning ahead in the things that I do. No matter if I’m devising strategies to complete an objective, or working to meet a previous commitment, I’ll always prefer to have a plan of action in mind.
As I have moved through life, these organizing skills have served me well in many capacities. They have helped me appear reliable, and responsible in many situations, because once I’ve adopted a goal, others can be sure I’m working toward making that goal happen in a systematic and organized manner.
Reasoning-Logical & Numerical
My love of reasoning was apparent at an early age. One of my fondest memories, was the day I out reasoned my father for the first time. An immense internal thrill, not because I beat him, but because I was now thinking at a higher level, I was excited to have gained entry into the more adult conversations (at least that’s how I saw things). My reasoning skills are best when applying conceptual and theoretical math concepts. My joys lie in my effort to apply current knowledge to new areas, and using statistical or other investigative use of mathematics.
These skills blend well with my synthesizing and organizing preferences. Hence my work with finances, business strategy, investments and business planning come easily. It should come as no surprise that when I sought to learn the casino game of craps, I built my own simulator, and tested uncounted numbers of theories and betting schemes as I hypothesized a way to play the game. No, I never played craps for the excitement within the crowd, or the potential for winning fast. I played for the thrill of seeing how an experiment with one of my hypotheses would turn out. When I fully understood the game, my thrill of playing left as well, for it was time to go discover a new phenomena.