There are two core branches of thinking: creative thinking and analytical thinking. Creative thinking pertains to thinking for new ideas and products - of seeing a new pattern of relationship between things that weren't obvious before. This extends to finding new ways to expressing things and combining existing ideas to producing new and better alternatives. Analytical thinking is associated towards submitting to a situation, problem, subject, or decision by way of a clear step-by-step examination. It is also related to testing statements, evidence, or proposals, against objective standards - of seeing beneath the surface to the 'root cause' of situations and on a rational basis. The two modes of thinking are not opposites. This is why you need to think creatively and analytically to solving problems and deciding which of any 'given' creative possibilities is the best. At the same time, you need to be adept beyond the two types of thought - to be a creative-analyst. Because, 'quality thinking' is the novel foundation of knowledge, insight, happiness, and wealth. Quality thinking consists of asking the right series of questions - and, remembering to asking them each time. As one wise guy put it: 'You are what you think, and not what you think you are.' Or, as Dagwood, emphasised in a 'Blondie' comic strip, 'You know, it makes a lot of sense if you don't think about it.' This explains a vital component of thinking - that analytical thinking needn't always be automatic. It has to be eternal vigilance. So far as creative thinking is concerned, you have got to do your homework first. Remember: facts alone are not enough. Creative prizes do not go to people who can simply acquire facts. It goes to folks who can mould, synthesise, and combine them in new ways. As the celebrated novelist Joseph Conrad placed it in clear perspective, 'Imagination, not invention, is the supreme master of art, as of life.' The bottom line: use your imagination fully, and generously. Next, channelise your intuition, or intuitive abilities, for a higher purpose. You will soon be wealthy with that capacity to think. Or, as the American psychiatrist and author Harold Bloomfield, once put it, 'Trusting your intuition can cure us of 'psychosclerosis,' a hardening of the mind and spirit that stems from over-dependence on rationality, and analysis.' It is just the idea you need - to awaken your latent genius within. In other words, the whole idea is akin to the flow concept, articulated by the renowned psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. All of us can achieve the flow experience - which is quite similar to 'being in the zone' in sports, or creative pursuits. You know it, don't you? It is a simple idea with a profound manifestation. It means just this: when you are in the zone, you are achieving peak performance, primarily because your level of concentration is so total, also complete. And, when the 'flow' takes place, things go just right - not otherwise. You feel alive, vibrant, and fully attentive to what you are doing. The flow experience is not 'easy-come, easy-go.' But, you'd do well, or also better, firstly with a practical, or realistically feasible goal, including sub-goals. Secondly, you ought to evaluate the progress in terms of the goals chosen, and never ever relax your focus on what you are doing. Thirdly, you should always concentrate on the flow, and develop skills necessary to capitalise on the opportunities available. Some of the common features of the flow experience are - high challenge, clear objectives, focus on psychic energy and attention, not to speak of continuous feedback. Paradoxically, there's a certain loss of self-consciousness. You are not really concerned with yourself - at that moment. You just belong to it. This is also one reason why a person who experiences the flow feeling is often well-motivated, irrespective of status, prestige, position, pay-packet, or perks, associated with the given job. The importance of being 'with' and 'in' the flow, however, needn't be over-emphasised. Because, a person who is experiencing the 'flow feeling' doesn't stop and think as to what is happening. They feel as if they are just onlookers - one who thinks that the precise actions are taking place naturally, even automatically, without any conscious control on their part. It's almost a feeling that you get while reading a book. You are totally absorbed. You don't realise too that you are turning the pages of the volume in hand, because your fingers do the chore for you. As Richard Huskey, a communication scientist, explains in his piece, published in 'Conversation,' 'When people feel flow, they are in a state of intense concentration. Their thoughts are focused on an experience rather than on themselves. They lose a sense of time and feel as if there is a merging of their actions and their awareness. That they have control over the situation. That the experience is not physically, or mentally taxing. Most importantly, flow is what researchers call the autotelic experience. Autotelic is derived from two Greek words: 'autos' (self) and 'telos' (end, or goal). Autotelic experiences are things that are worth doing in and of themselves. Research sometimes calls them intrinsically rewarding experiences. Flow experiences are intrinsically rewarding.' In fact, a recent study showed that flow helps people stay resilient in the face of adversity. Part of this is primarily because flow can help refocus thoughts away from something stressful to something pleasing. Other studies have shown that experiencing flow can help guard people against depression and 'burnout.' This is not all. A new study published in 'Intelligence' has found that wisdom plays a key role in ensuring people use their creativity for the benefit of others, or socially constructive goals, rather than self-centred accomplishments. So, just 'feel' and 'go' with the flow - and, you will 'flow-power' yourself to accomplishing anything, and everything, you do, or intend doing, right now.