As important as it is to embrace our unique selves, a powerful approach to developing creative solutions is to imagine we're someone else. (Contradictions can be fun.)
This has a liberating effect on our brains — taking "hopes" and "fears" and putting them up on a shelf for a bit, where nobody will trip over them.
It's called "counterfactual thinking." It's a "what if" style of ideation where we reflect on how different actions or circumstances might lead to different outcomes.
So, instead of thinking about how we would solve a problem...
Think about how our biggest competitors might solve it.
Consider how a historical figure might approach the issue.
Imagine how a child, with their unfiltered view, would tackle the challenge.
Picture how someone from a completely different industry might handle it.
Imagine how our future selves, blessed with more success, experience and wisdom, might deal with it.