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5. I worry about making mistakes.

But I believe that another important

explanation for introverts who love

their work may come from a very different

line of research by the influential

psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

on the state of being he calls “flow.”

Flow is an optimal state in which you

feel totally engaged in an activity—whether

long-distance swimming

or songwriting, sumo wrestling or sex.

In a state of flow, you’re neither bored

nor anxious, and you don’t question

your own adequacy. Hours pass

without your noticing.

The key to flow is to pursue an activity

for its own sake, not for the rewards

it brings. Although flow does not depend

on being an introvert or an

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