When were you happiest?

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

Asked in 52 of the 131 consecutive instalments of The Guardian's The Q&A harvested on 2026-08-29.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Recorded Hilary Swank said elsewhere, not written here
Being happy is not a constant. But I am very happy when I am spending time with my family and my friends, and going on hikes with my dogs.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 19 March 2011 source ↗

Others on this question

View all 576 →
Jane Asher English actress and author
The early family skiing holidays – before I’d broken an ankle and Gerald had torn a ligament – were just wonderful.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 May 2023 source ↗
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen English interior designer and television personality
This is going to horribly upset my wife, my children and my grandchildren, but it was when I did The Greatest Snowman last year for Channel 4. Being let loose on an Austrian mountainside to build snow sculptures was my happy point, and who knew I’d find an icy G-spot at nearly 58.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 8 October 2022 source ↗
Niamh Cusack Irish actress
When my son was born. Actually, probably a month after, when I got over the enormous responsibility of being a mum.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 October 2021 source ↗

More from Hilary Swank

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Question What is the biggest obstacle you have faced professionally? Craft & work
I realized that the biggest obstacle was my mind. It was the biggest obstacle, and if I could get out of the way of myself, I would grow. So every time I had that attitude, I changed it, and I’d say, “You can. Today you can, and take it one day at a time, and today, I’m going to get up and I’m not going to think about the other six days of this week. I’m going to get up right now, and I’m going to go to the gym, and I’m going to learn about my boxing, and I’m going to be in the moment.” You know, in anything, you hit a wall, and then you have to break through it, and I just had to get out of my own way.
Recorded Academy of Achievement, Academy of Achievement interview, Los Angeles, California, 1 April 2006 source ↗

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