My ability to invariably say exactly the wrong thing in any given situation.
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Question
What is your greatest fear?
Identity & self
Question
What keeps you awake at night?
Daily life
Question
How close have you come to death?
Death & what remains
Question
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Time & hindsight
Question
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Craft & work
Question
What is the worst job you have done?
Craft & work
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 don’t give myself that much thought.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 10 August 2024 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 243 →
Paul McKenna
British hypnotist and TV personality
Impatience. My dad said I was born in a hurry.
I’m not into self-deploring.
Alison Steadman
British actress
I repeat stories (like my mum used to).
More from Michael Flatley
View profile →On my deathbed thinking I wish I would have done something that I didn’t do.
Rhythm patterns from my dance shows.
My recent battle with cancer.
You’re going to come up against brick walls in life. You’ve got to go over them, under them, around them, or crash through them, but somehow or other you’ve got to get to the other side.
Aside from the night that my wife said yes, creating Riverdance and Lord of the Dance, and employing thousands of dancers for the last 30 years.
Digging foundations in the freezing-cold Chicago winters.
More on identity & self
Also answered this
Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Church, Angela Griffin, Rita Moreno, Omid Djalili, Fay Ripley
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