In 2023, while flying from Houston to Portland, Oregon, during my time as a university dean, I had an unforgettable experience. Mid-flight, we encountered severe turbulence thousands of miles above sea level. For a moment, my world felt suspended—not just by the shaking plane, but by the flood of questions racing through my mind. What would I do differently if I got off this plane? What truly mattered in my life? It felt like a flash of clarity, forcing me to reflect on priorities I might have been neglecting. Thankfully, we landed safely, and I resumed work in Portland, but the experience lingered. Moments like these challenge us to confront the profound truths about what we value most.
The truth is, many of us live with a dangerous misalignment of priorities. We often invest time in activities that fail to reflect what we genuinely care about, leaving us feeling busy but unfulfilled. This misalignment became glaringly evident in a recent survey we conducted with 700 of our students. We asked them to rate how much joy they derived from their daily activities. As expected, work-related tasks ranked low on the joy scale, while personal activities ranked higher. But here’s what was startling: even in their personal lives, many students admitted they weren’t prioritizing what brought them joy.
For instance, students consistently reported finding the most joy in spending time with family, practicing spirituality, or working on passion projects. Yet, they spent far more time on activities like watching TV or scrolling through social media—activities they admitted gave them little to no lasting happiness.
This survey shined a light on a common struggle: a widespread misalignment between what we do and what we value. And this misalignment often leads us into a cycle of busyness laced with regret. We stay occupied, but at the end of the day, we’re left wondering if we spent our time wisely.
The turbulence on that flight reminded me of the fragility of life and the importance of aligning our actions with our values. My hope is that we all take a moment to reassess how we’re spending our time and ask ourselves: are we truly investing in what matters most?
Evans Akpo 