One Saturday morning, at age 15, I looked in mirror and was horrified to see a huge, red pimple on my forehead. To a teenager that is a major crisis, especially when half a tube of Clearasil only makes it look worse. Who would have predicted that this zit would teach me a life lesson?

Silly now that I look back on this incident, but at time I was consumed with shame. I even canceled my weekend plans because I didn't want to be seen in public.

So you can imagine my rage when my sister snapped a photo, preserving this ugly image forever. (Lucky for her, she could run faster than me.) And, to add insult to injury, my mother lovingly placed picture in family album!

But it turned out that this was best thing she could have done. During a visit back home 12 years later I was looking through old family albums, and came across "THE photograph," which I recognized instantly from orange dress I had been wearing (and which I never wore again.) Bravely I mustered up courage to examine photo, and to relive humiliation of that abominable zit.

You've probably guessed by now that I had to search pretty hard to see blemish on my face in picture. If I looked very closely, I could detect a small speck on my forehead. It certainly didn't cover my face as I had recalled that it did.

That photo sure put things in focus for me -- and not just in terms of zits.

I instantly realized that by fixating on a single, minor blemish, I had become a self-pitying recluse. For a couple of days I had lost all objectivity, allowing this pimple to take over my life, magnifying its negative impact.

This is precisely what your “inner brat” does. In its immature, self-absorbed way it dwells on what's wrong in your life, distorting negative way out of proportion.

This question is more than an interview question; it is a question that you should be asking yourself before interview. When have you been most satisfied in your work? When did you feel like you were making a difference or making a contribution? Basically, it’s about knowing what you want.

A simple exercise that will help you answer this question will also help you look inside yourself to think about what you want “more of,” and what you want “less of” in your next job. People usually perform at a higher level if they are satisfied with work that they do -- and as a result are more motivated to give 100% - plus.

Exercise to Find Answer

An exercise that will help you with answer to this question as well as to assist you in looking inward to determine when you were working at your fullest potential is a simple one. Begin by making a list of tasks at your last job -- tasks that you were particularly proud of, or were energized by. In other words, “when your job turned you on.” Think about last time you were so involved in a project or task that you woke up thinking about how you could improve situation. Write those experiences down and try to determine what factors were that were satisfying for you.

Let’s say you were a “Project Leader.” The tasks list would read something like – “Led a team - Coordinated and monitored project progress - Assured flow and completion of work on schedule – Monitored expenditures and budget.”