Abraham Maslow, the noted psychologist and celebrated visionary, once wrote, "Life is moving far more rapidly now than ever before... in the rate of growth of facts, knowledge, techniques, and inventions." He also added, "We need a different kind of human being, able to live in a world which changes perpetually, who has been educated to be comfortable with change in situations in which he has had absolutely no forewarning," - in today's context our fast-emerging Artificial Intelligence [AI] world. Maslow, emphasised further, "The society that can turn out such people will survive: societies which do not will die."

Michael J Gelb's temporal book, "Thinking For A Change," published 30 years ago, which I 'revisited,' recently, based on such a template, is as relevant today. It offers a road-map, a manual for anybody who wishes to become comfortable in an unendingly changing world - and, be the "different kind of human being." It also explains how we can acquire the necessary thinking and communicating skills, including practical, brain-based strategies to meeting challenges in life and career.

Writes Gelb, the originator of the concept of 'synvergent thinking' and a pioneer in the development and teaching of mind mapping, "Most of what we know about the brain has been learned in the past 25 years. This research yields insights that can unleash your potential for personal growth and high performance."

Gelb's book is purposefully based on a practical upshot - the understanding of the structure and design of the human brain, including on-going research into the thinking patterns of history's greatest achievers - from the likes of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci to Charles Darwin. Its fundamental keynote is based on what the magnificent trio may have possibly used - mind mapping - with stunning success to unleashing the ability to generating new ideas in a flash and organising them just as effectively.

"Thinking..." helps you to rethink the way you think. Instead of minimising risks, it maximises your inherent potential - the natural ability to create, communicate and lead in every area of life. Its reader-friendly approach focuses on everybody's commonplace needs - from designing and mapping your life goals to making the best out of a business meeting.

What is synvergent thinking? It is the art of balancing logic and imagination, reason and intuition - a way of seeing the whole picture. It is also the ability to entertain multiple pairs of seemingly opposite ideas. Simultaneously. Nothing new, if you'd recall F Scott Fitzgerald's famous aphorism - intelligence, or genius, is doing two things at the same time.

Gelb's insights teach us how to 'just do it' as well - facilitate our mind's ability to link disparate ideas - through mind mapping, linking words, feelings and sense impressions "that improve the organisation of ideas and encourages synvergent thinking." The best part - there is more to mind mapping than what meets your mind and psychical map, or cartography.

Gelb, who is the world's leading authority on the application of genius thinking to personal and organisational development, also proposes a practical way to getting the better of such dizzy complexities. Mind mapping, he reckons, unleashes your ability to generating ideas quickly and organising them productively - a sine qua non in a world of accelerating change, downsizing, corporate restructuring, reengineering and reinventing. His exemplar, "If you are studying Shakespeare, a key word maybe 'Hamlet.' If you think of Hamlet, chances are you'll have a rich series of associations, such as: prince, Denmark, Polonius, Elsinore. The non-key words might include 'and,' or 'the.'" He adds, "Once we learn grammar and syntax, our minds automatically grammatise our thoughts, so it's rarely necessary to record all those and's, the's and of's. Time and energy spent recording and memorising non-key words is wasted effort."

Gelb's work, with its case studies and examples, emphasises the role played by self-analysis and insight. It includes the five phases of creative problem solving: preparation, generation, moving beyond habitual pathways of thought, incubation and allowing your sub-attentional intelligence to suggest solutions, evaluation and implementation. It also makes a case for synvergent listening, because there can be no communication without listening.

"Thinking...," is strongly founded on the premise of emerging models in the world that go beyond theoretical understanding. It celebrates and welcomes paradigms in order to help you discover the means verifiable in practice and for realising your own highest aspirations for yourself, your family and also your workplace. This is because you ought to be consciously aware of the winds of change that are exceeding the proverbial gale force itself.

Most importantly, Gelb asks us to be honest without being ham-handed and master the art of feedback. "Life," he says, "is tough and precarious." "It is overflowing with abundant blessings and joy. So, look out for yourself and establish clear boundaries." He calls for love for others and for the divine. He quotes Kahlil Gibran's timeless nugget, "Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in the mirror. But, you are eternity and you are the mirror."

"Thinking...," demystifies every facet of our continued craze for zombification. It provides the fundamental skills to polishing the mirrors of change, if only you put Gelb's perspectives into practice and sustained action. As Gelb emphasises - there are no short-cuts, and you have got to go the whole hog, for results to emerge and surge.

The bottom line - one ought to step into the river where the flow of water is ceaseless, or never the same, by reading the book, no matter the trouble of locating a copy, right away. Reason? You'll sure be rewarded for absorbing its essence - synvergently.

Nidamboor is a wellness physician, independent researcher and author