Gayle King
Broadcaster
I’m disorganized.
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Question
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
Failure & regret
Question
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Values & belief
Question
What would you like to be remembered for?
Death & what remains
Question
Which moment embarrassed you most?
Failure & regret
Question
Who most deserves an apology from you, and why?
Failure & regret
Question
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
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.
Self-righteousness and a phobia of embarrassment.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 November 2025 source ↗
Others on this question
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Jason Derulo
American singer and songwriter
I dislike my relationship with food. I wish I didn’t love food so much.
Maxi-multitasking.
Vick Hope
British television and radio presenter
I can’t say no. I am a people-pleaser, and it means that I burn myself out because I take on too much.
More from Brandi Carlile
View profile →I’m not thrilled with my lack of commitment to feminism in my 20s.
Greed, lack of empathy. Same thing.
Human, evolving and faithful.
Leaving the stage from a panic attack in my 20s. Hearing the audience angry.
To kids I bullied in school. I have apologised and I will continue to. To repay those things karmically, I will watch my kids’ hearts like a hawk for signs of hardening or any distortions of empathy that they might develop.
Sacrifice the self and you will gain it. Serve the self and you will lose it.
More on identity & self
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Jean Smart, George H. W. Bush, Zack Polanski, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Laurie Metcalf, Takashi Murakami
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