Right up to this question.
When were you happiest?
Question
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Values & belief
Question
What do you do when you feel creatively blocked or stuck?
Craft & work
Question
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Values & belief
Question
How does a new work begin for you?
Craft & work
Question
What do you value most in your friends?
Relationships
Question
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Identity & self
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.
My college years, when everything was possible and I felt physically invulnerable.
Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, August 2020 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 577 →
Jessica Brown Findlay
English actress
My wedding day last year. It was supposed to be 4 April and, in the end, it was 12 September.
Heidi Klum
German-American model and TV host
The first time I saw each of my four children’s faces.
Zoë Heller
English journalist and novelist
Sending off the final draft of my latest novel.
More from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
View profile →Dishonesty. It destroys relationships. It’s something celebrities especially have to guard against because people are prone to tell you what they think you want to hear rather than the truth.
I don’t think that is tough, because if you have an idea of something meaningful to communicate, you can move forward on that. You might not be successful in communicating what you want to communicate, but at least you have an idea of something that needs to be said, or something that you think should be said, and I think you go from there.
Barack Obama has shown us how to be a politician guided by intelligence, integrity, and compassion.
I don’t think that is tough, because if you have an idea of something meaningful to communicate, you can move forward on that. You might not be successful in communicating what you want to communicate, but at least you have an idea of something that needs to be said, or something that you think should be said, and I think you go from there.
Loyalty. Not fawning, but a loyalty based on our shared love and history that fosters compassion and forgiveness.
Laziness. After 30 years of being a disciplined athlete with an intensely tight schedule, I still can’t forgive myself for letting things slide.
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