Alex Hassell: What is the most important lesson life has taught you?

What is the most important lesson life has taught you?

Originally asked

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

Verbatim recurring item in The Guardian Q&A; two fully readable publisher-hosted respondent pages establish institutional recurrence.

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

Recorded Alex Hassell said elsewhere, not written here

To keep trying to listen to yourself.

The Q&A, The Guardian, 16 May 2026 source ↗

Others on this question

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Isabel Allende

Give, give, give. The more you give, the happier you are.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 28 December 2024 source ↗

Ram Dass Spiritual teacher and author

Well, I—I've experienced that the stroke was grace. It was grace, for me, to play, to get inside, grace. I was dependent. These are things that I—those, those were graceful things. You know, pushed. And just go inside, to be—you're a quote "author" and it's a cultural thing, that role, to get into your head. But it's a head game. It's a head game. And I wanted to get down to my spiritual identity. And the stroke placed me at the spiritual identity.

Recorded Ross Simonini, The Believer, issue 115, by Skype from Hawaii, 20 November 2017 source ↗

Helen George English actress

To let things go.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 28 January 2023 source ↗

Robert Carlyle Scottish actor

To stand up tall and aim for what you want.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 February 2008 source ↗

More from Alex Hassell

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Question What has been your biggest disappointment? Failure & regret

Not playing Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire. I am a huge Brando fan and a big Tennessee Williams fan and it’s a part I would love to have a go at. It’s possible I still could but I’m too old, really.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 16 May 2026 source ↗