Vic, my wife, has over the years reduced my impatience, but anybody who has been in a traffic jam with me will know that she hasn’t completed the task yet.
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Question
What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?
Failure & regret
Question
What happens when we die?
Death & what remains
Question
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Values & belief
Question
What is the worst job you have done?
Craft & work
Question
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Identity & self
Question
When were you happiest?
Time & hindsight
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
The Guardian's The Q&A has retained this Proust-derived prompt from at least 2007 through 2026, and ABC independently put it to the Obamas in 2011.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
I talk too much.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 8 March 2025 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 243 →Self-denigration, an old strategy for extorting praise from people. (“I am a terrible person.” “No, you’re a wonderful person and we all love you.”)
The desire to please. It’s a losing battle.
Being giving to the detriment of myself.
More from Charles Collingwood
View profile →In an audition at the Royal Court, this man called out, “Were you trained?”
When my mother died in my arms, I feel I witnessed her spirit leaving her body, so let’s just wait and see.
Freddie Flintoff. He played cricket in the best spirit and in his series Field of Dreams, you could see the boys hanging on his every word. He’s a special guy.
Standing outside a pub in Acton on a freezing February day in a threadbare overcoat doing market research.
Glass half full.
My childhood. I was an only child, happy and secure, and there was always plenty of time to play cricket.
More on identity & self
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- All identity & self questions
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