Out of reach

What is one thing that is in your life only as a substitute, because the thing you really wanted was something you couldn’t have?

This week's theme is desire.

Conditional wishes

What are some things that you want — but only if the price is low enough?
What is the thing that you want, but that you won't buy for yourself, because you must receive it as a gift?

This week's theme is desire.

This is the world calling...

What does everyone want from you?

This week's theme is desire.

When do you want it?

What do you want to happen for you in the next twelve months?
What do you want to happen for you in the next few days?
What do you want right now?

This week's theme is desire.

What do you want?

What do you want, more than anything else?

This week's theme is desire.

Tell us a story: a meal to remember

What was the last memorable meal you had? What made it memorable?

Release

What are you ready to let go of today?

Take a stand

What is something that you've been putting off that you could resolve with decisive action today?

This week's theme is procrastination.

A simpler plan

Remember that thing from yesterday — the project that you are reluctant to start? Is it simply too big a job for you? Is there an easier, simpler way to do it? How much could you scale back your expectations, and still get a workable outcome? How much could you gain by being willing to be flexible? What would you have to give up in order to be flexible on this particular project?

This week's theme is procrastination.

Got to be starting something

Think of one thing you are reluctant to get started on. Is your reluctance because you are not convinced that the reward will be worth the effort? Or is it because you're afraid that you'll fail, or that something bad could happen?

This week's theme is procrastination.

Counting down to putting things off

Take sixty seconds and try to list anything you are putting off doing. Think of the things that have been on your list for months (or even years!), the things you keep finding are less important than something else (like washing your dog or synching your iPad), or the things you know you should do, but for which you don't even have a plan. How many things did you come up with?

This week's theme is procrastination.

Procrastination

None of us have unlimited free time, so we all procrastinate to one degree or another. What are some areas of your life where you repeatedly put things off, or move them to the bottom of your to-do list? Are there areas of your life where you usually don't delay and can get things done in a timely manner?

This week's theme is procrastination.

Tell us a story: Top of the world

Did you ever climb to a high place, just for the exhilaration of being high above the ground? Or are you daunted by heights?

What was one memorable time when you were at a high place with a dramatic view?

Don't panic

How well do you handle a crisis situation? Can you keep your cool, quickly gather information, and formulate a plan?

What was one crisis that you handled pretty well?

Change the channel; leave the party!

Who is someone you dislike because they remind you of the worst parts of yourself?

This week's theme is self-esteem.

Tearing you down

What critical thoughts seem to play over and over in your mind? Who is really the source of this criticism — is it your mother's voice, a teacher's, a sibling or a friend? Are these criticisms well-founded, or, when you look at them logically rather than emotionally, are they overly harsh and uncalled for?

This week's theme is self-esteem.

On the other hand...

If you had to name a negative trait of yours, what is the obvious one that you think of first?

This week's theme is self-esteem.

Here's why I'm great

If you had to name a positive trait of yours, what is the first one that comes to mind? What are some other things you like about yourself?

This week's theme is self-esteem.

Self-esteem

For many of us, we come from a tradition that requires us to be humble. "Oh, shucks," we say after being complimented, "it was nothing." But the responses we keep to ourselves are more revealing. Some of us respond to a compliment by thinking, "Yeah, I rock!," some are thinking, "No, seriously, I'm not so great — this is so embarrassing," while still others are wondering what the other person's agenda might be.

Do you like yourself? Do you gracefully accept compliments from others?

This week's theme is self-esteem.

Tell us a story: biggest whopper

What's the craziest lie you ever told, and why?

Time zones

Do you regularly deal with people in different time zones? How many different time zones do you interact with?

Downtime

In general, do you have a strategy for dealing with long enforced periods of boredom? Say, if you know you're going to have a long layover between flights, or will be waiting for your appointment with a perennially late doctor, or have to wait on an endless line at the department of motor vehicles. Do you bring a book, or correspondence, or hope you'll meet someone interesting to talk to?

This week's theme is strategies.

The Big Plan

How do you begin when you have something you want to accomplish? Do you do a lot of research first? Do you just forge ahead, and expect that you'll solve problems as they come along?

This week's theme is strategies.

Wet blankets

We all know people who like to rain on parades. How do you deal with people who belittle or discourage your plans and ambitions?

This week's theme is strategies.

Mood-lightener or gasoline-on-fire pourer?

What is one way you frequently react when faced with a crisis or a challenge? Is that mode of behavior usually helpful, or does it just make matters worse?

This week's theme is strategies.

Strategies

We all have our unique ways of dealing with the world, with people, with situations. Our personal strategies are sometimes a winning formula, but equally as often they are simply a racket we run to stay one up on the big, bad world.

When you have limited time and many things to do, which kinds of things do you do first? How do you decide?

This week's theme is strategies.

Tell us a story: Brush with fame

Who is the most famous or most admired person you've ever met face to face?

On the menu

Do you read while you're eating? If so, what is your typical mealtime reading material?

You had to be there

Think of your own children, or of all the people who are one generation younger than you. What are some things that they don't fully understand because they weren't alive yet when those things took shape? What are some things that you think of as new, but that younger people might think have "always been there" because they never knew a world without them?

If you had the chance, and if you had their attention for a few minutes, what are some things that you'd like to explain to people of the next generation, so they could gain the benefit of your perspective and have a better understanding of the world they live in?

(For those of you too young to have children, think about the people who will be born in the next few years, and how they might see the world about ten years from now. What are some of the new things that they will assume have "always been there"?)

This week's theme is one generation ago.

Name Tag Day

Believe it or not, just forty years ago, there was no April Fool's Day. That tradition hadn't gotten started yet. But in some places there was a different April 1 tradition, now long forgotten, called Name Tag Day. People would pick a hero, or someone who inspired them, and introduce themselves by that person's name all day long. If you met someone on April 1, there was almost no point in asking their name, because they wouldn't tell you their own name; they'd give you the name the person who inspired them.

To speed things up, people got in the habit of wearing their hero's name on a name tag. "Hello, my name is John Glenn." "Hello, my name is Marie Curie" — and so on.

Just kidding! There never was a Name Tag Day tradition on April 1. But if there were such a tradition, and if you were in a place where this tradition was observed, whose name would you wear on your name tag? What person is an inspiring example of what you would like to be? Whom would you enjoy pretending to be, just for one day? (Please phrase your answer in the form of a name tag: "Hello, my name is _____.")

This week's theme is one generation ago.