I cut people off a lot when I talk. It’s a terrible habit.
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Question
What keeps you awake at night?
Daily life
Question
What is the worst job you have done?
Craft & work
Question
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Identity & self
Question
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Daily life
Question
When was the last time you changed your mind about something?
Change of mind
Question
What scares you about getting older?
Time & hindsight
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’m very impatient – next question.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 27 June 2026 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 252 →Catastrophising.
My default will always be to go for the worst-case scenario and that is something that I am unlearning.
Meghan Trainor
American singer-songwriter
My self-criticism.
More from Paula Wilcox
View profile →Anything, because I’m a worrier. Also, if I’m working on a really exciting project, I can be awake like an excited child looking forward to going on holiday.
I don’t think I’ve ever done a job that I hate. I worked as a temp briefly when I was out of work and it was fun.
Impatient, funny, worrier.
A driver or a helicopter.
I’m trying to write my will and I keep changing my mind.
Not to be able to do the things that you take for granted, like running up the tube steps or going somewhere under your own steam.
More on identity & self
Also answered this
Michelle Yeoh, Dervla Kirwan, Dolly Parton, John Lewis, Vick Hope, Clare Bailey Mosley
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