When I read the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, one of the examples mentioned there was the example of seeing your paradigms as maps. Here is the full example:

For our purposes, a simple way to understand paradigms is to see them as maps. We all know that “the map is not the territory.” A map is simply an explanation of certain aspects of the territory. That’s exactly what a paradigm is. It is a theory, an explanation, or model of something else.
Suppose you wanted to arrive at a specific location in central Chicago. A street map of the city would be a great help to you in reaching your destination. But suppose you were given the wrong map. Through a printing error, the map labeled “Chicago” was actually a map of Detroit. Can you imagine the frustration, the ineffectiveness of trying to reach your destination?
You might work on your behavior — you could try harder, be more diligent, double your speed. But your efforts would only succeed in getting you to the wrong place faster. 
You might work on your attitude — you could think more positively. You still wouldn’t get to the right place, but perhaps you wouldn’t care. Your attitude would be so positive, you’d be happy wherever you were.
The point is, you’d still be lost. The fundamental problem has nothing to do with your behavior or your attitude. It has everything to do with having a wrong map.
If you have the right map of Chicago, then diligence becomes important, and when you encounter frustrating obstacles along the way, then attitude can make a real difference. But the first and most important requirement is the accuracy of the map.
Each of us has many, many maps in our head, which can be divided into two main categories: maps of the way things are, or realities, and maps of the way things should be, or values. We interpret everything we experience through these mental maps. We seldom question their accuracy; we’re usually even unaware that we have them. We simply assume that the way we see things is the way they really are or the way they should be. 

It’s just a great example. As children, our mental maps are formed and they change again and again throughout life. They are formed by our family, schools, education, friends, cultures and they get changed by the same (hopefully for the better). 

You start by thinking “You have to work hard”, and whether it is in sports, learning or games you see that there are talented people who can just do better than you, so you change your map and think: “If only I had a talent for this.” 

So now the map shows “Talent is important.” But as the years pass you can see that if people work hard they can surpass the talented person. So you get to the other famous quote: “Hard work beats talent.” 

So you upgrade your mental map to this. “You have to work hard and you can beat talent.” But there is a continuation of this quote: “Hard work beats talent if talent doesn’t work hard.” So you get a better map. “You have to work hard but talented people can surpass you unless you work harder to the point of beating talent. But if talent works as hard as you or harder they will beat you.” So you have now a much better map and it shows a more nuanced and real view of the real world. 

And this brings me back to a quote I’ve read from Sam Altman (former President of Y Combinator). 

You can get to about the 90th percentile in your field by working either smart or hard, which is still a great accomplishment. But getting to the 99th percentile requires both—you will be competing with other very talented people who will have great ideas and be willing to work a lot.