Settled & Unsettled Times

Sociologist Ann Swidler has written persuasively about the difference between “settled” and “unsettled” times. Settled times consist of “traditions and common sense; [within which we] refine and reinforce skills, habits, and modes of experience.” These settled times are where most of us spend nearly our entire lives.

They are the familiar and comfortable seasons of life in which our environments and habits are well understood. We are guided within them by routine because that is how we simplify and make sense of life. In the unsettled times, not routines but new ideas are the forces driving us forward. In these times, we “create new strategies for action.” These unsettled times are what I usually call transitionary periods.

… Our lives are an ongoing movement between settled and unsettled spaces. We use familiarity and routine for as long as we can, but when change occurs, we are often forced through new doorways and have to adapt to new ways of thinking, new modes of acting. Change moves us out of our previous settled time; transition moves us into the next one.

While changes are significant to our lives, it is the success of our transitions that will determine our satisfaction and effectiveness in the days and years to come—whether we will succeed in college or find satisfaction in our new job. This chapter is about discerning how to respond to the unsettling moments when change is around the corner, whether we chose it or not. How well we handle these moments makes a world of difference.