Procrastination ... getting overwhelmed ... getting stuck.
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Question
What keeps you awake at night?
Daily life
Question
What scares you about getting older?
Time & hindsight
Question
What does love feel like?
Relationships
Question
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Time & hindsight
Question
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Identity & self
Question
What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?
Failure & regret
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.
Not finishing things.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 24 February 2024 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 252 →Lack of confidence masquerading as perfectionism.
Al Franken
Senator and comedian
I had to ask people about this, because I couldn’t think of anything, and the consensus seems to be: a general lack of self-awareness.
I cut people off a lot when I talk. It’s a terrible habit.
More from Peter Sarsgaard
View profile →The Middle East crisis.
Losing my mind.
Stimulating in every way.
To tell the truth.
Nurturing, musical, uncompromising.
When I was first acting, in college, a relative came and saw me in Hedda Gabler and she said: “Look in the mirror, you’re not an actor. An actor looks like Mel Gibson.”
More on identity & self
Also answered this
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, Jason Sudeikis, Rory Stewart, Romesh Ranganathan, Laverne Cox, Walton Goggins
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All identity & self questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject