Thinking: Letting Go to Create Clarity.
Overcoming Attachment Bias in Creative Problem-Solving.
It can often seem easy to see solutions to other people’s problems. Whether a friend is stressing over a tough decision or a colleague stuck in a work dilemma, we are often able to swoop in with clarity and objectivity in a way in which was cannot do for ourselves. The answer seems obvious—at least to us. That’s because problem-solving for others offers a distinct advantage: we’re free from the emotional bias that clouds our judgment.
When the is our own, the stakes feel higher. We can often find ourselves unconsciously chained to attachment, and suddenly, what should be straightforward becomes murky. We can be too close to the situation, entangled in the fear of failure or the lure of preserving what we’ve already done—even if it’s not working.
While teaching art I used to use a technique with the students that can often seem entirely petrifying but can prove incredibly effective, allowing you to overcome emotional fog.
Erase your “best” work.
Initially, it may sound entirely counterintuitive, but the idea is to challenge attachment bias head-on by letting go of the parts we’re most emotionally tied to. Why? Because those pieces—the ones we’re so proud of—can sometimes stand in the way of the bigger picture, and throw our overall work, progress, or path to completion out of alignment.
Understanding Attachment Bias
Attachment bias—the tendency to overvalue what we’ve already invested in —can lead to decisions that prioritise emotional comfort over objective improvement. Daniel Kahneman, in his book Thinking, Fast and Slow (one of my all-time favourite books alongside Malcolm Gladwell's Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking and Talking to Strangers) highlights this phenomenon through the concept of
"endowment effect": we assign greater value to things simply because they are ours or we feel like we own them.
This bias can manifest in creative work as a reluctance to let go of initial ideas or cherished details, even when they no longer serve the broader goal. We may feel like we have 'the' answer, but this can often be throwing the overall quality of our work off course.
A designer might spend countless hours perfecting a logo that doesn’t align with the brand’s evolving direction, or a filmmaker might hold onto a beautifully shot scene that disrupts the story’s pacing. The result? Projects that feel fragmented rather than fluid. Recognising attachment bias is the first step in overcoming it, paving the way for decisions based on clarity and coherence rather than sentimentality.
Erasing the "Best" to Build the Whole
How our work is perceived by the audience is of primary importance, both in personal artistic practices and within larger creative work environments. But we can often get blinded by our own aim for excellence.
Erasing your best idea, the best part of the picture, or the best part of the design, is particularly striking when applied in these environments. Imagine a writer meticulously crafting a single sentence or an artist obsessing over one detail in a painting. These moments of brilliance can feel like anchors, something to build the rest of the work around. But they can often be holding the work back.
They can often become so “precious” that they distort the flow of the overall image or aim of the output, making everything else serve them rather than the whole.
That’s where erasure comes in. By forcing yourself to delete what you see as your best effort, the focus shifts. Suddenly, it’s not about preserving isolated successes but about creating a cohesive whole. This exercise forces a change in perspective: instead of clinging to a single high point, we encourage ourselves to think holistically, rebalancing and reimagining the work as a unified piece.
Why It Works
This approach works because it disrupts our attachment bias, the mental trap of overvaluing what we’ve already invested in. By letting go, we open ourselves up to new possibilities and a clearer vision.
Doing this can be scary because it also opens us up to ask if the thing that we are doing is even still serving the purpose of our original goal. We may realise that it's not speaking to the audience in the way we wanted it to, it's not telling the story it should, and we should potentially go back to stage one.
Like clearing a cluttered desk; with the distractions gone, the essentials come into focus.
Erasing isn’t about destroying for the sake of destruction. It’s about trust—trusting that the work as a whole will be stronger without the weight of undue attachments. And it’s about practice. The more we let go, the easier it becomes to see our work as others might see it: without the emotional baggage, with a clearer eye for clarity and balance.
I also recommend the people I mentor do this exercise with their portfolios. Your portfolio should show your overall skill level, quality, and approach to your work. The one outstanding piece of work can often make your outputs appear inconsistent and mean that you go into an environment where you are having to strive continuously to reproduce something with may have been a one-off rather than an average.
Applying These Ideas in Creative Environments
Creative professionals often work under tight deadlines and collaborative pressures, making it essential to keep attachment bias in check. Here’s how:
Encourage Iteration: Start with quick, rough drafts and prototypes, understanding that they’re meant to evolve. This mindset reduces emotional investment in early ideas, making it easier to discard or revise them later.
Foster a Feedback Culture: Involve A LOT OF FEEDBACK early in the process. OTHER PEOPLE’S objective input can highlight blind spots and challenge attachment to less effective elements.
Use Erasure Exercises: Periodically, ask the team to identify and set aside their “favourite” parts of the whole. This practice shifts focus to the overall goal and encourages holistic thinking.
Normalise Course Correction: Frame changes as a natural part of the creative process. When adjustments are expected rather than feared, attachment bias loses its grip.
Taking It Further
This technique isn’t just effective for writers or artists. It’s a mindset shift that applies to problem-solving in any domain. When faced with tough decisions, ask yourself: what am I clinging to? What “success” am I afraid to erase, even if it no longer fits?
Letting go of these attachments can make space for better, more cohesive solutions—ones that feel clear-eyed and confident, just like when we’re solving for someone else.
So next time you’re stuck, try it. Erase your “best” and see what happens. You might find that what’s left isn’t a compromise but something stronger, more balanced, and unmistakably whole.