An exact analogy is approached between systems in thermal equilibrium and those far from equilibrium which can be the cases without detailed balance. The analogy is based on the requirement that a given drift in the Fokker-Planck equation can be decomposed into two parts, one of which is divergence-free and the other can be derived from a potential which is invariant along the direction of the first part. If the conditions are fulfilled the Fokker-Planck equation changes in to a standard Poisson equation. The relations of this requirement to other conditions are diecussed. As a concrete example, the stationary Fokker-Planck equation for optical bistability is solved by using"this method.