I was surprised to see an article with this title. It talks about these eight ideas:
1. Break your problems into manageable parts
2. Experiment and observe
3. Leverage uncertainty
4. Use data and evidence to make informed decisions
5. Test your assumptions, beliefs and mental models
6. Think long-term
7. Focus on continuous improvement
8. Be curious, like a beginner
For the most part that describes my approach to life. I wouldn’t say “leverage” uncertainty, I mostly do my best to feel comfortable with it so it doesn’t keep me from focusing on what I need to do. The article says,
Despite our best efforts to plan and control our circumstances, there will always be unknown factors and unexpected events that arise.
Uncertainty can be challenging and uncomfortable, but it can also provide opportunities for growth and learning. When faced with uncertainty, we can practice resilience, adaptability, and problem-solving skills. We can also learn to be more patient and accept situations beyond our control.
That sounds sensible to me. For instance, Monday I received an email from the Sucuri, the company that backups my website. It says it was reminding me that they were changing the platform they were using and I hadn’t made the changes necessary for my backups to work (don’t bother reading the details):
Our testing has confirmed that backups for one or more sites in your account will partially or completely fail once the migration is completed, unless the actions mentioned in our earlier message are taken prior to migration.
You can view this in your support ticket dashboard here: https://support.sucuri.net/support/?product
Please reply to this ticket to let us know when the required steps have been taken so that we can confirm that your backups will continue to work as expected once the migration is complete.
I don’t remember ever having been warned before, so I poked around to check to make sure it wasn’t a scam (it’s impossible to talk to a person) and apparently they were right, they had a record of saying:
Hello,
We will be transitioning the Sucuri Backup service to a new platform soon which will run on different servers.
In order to ensure a smooth transition with as little disruption in the backup process as possible, we ask that you allow the following backup server IP addresses within the hosting server on ports 21 or 22 for FTP and SFTP connection, respectively:
What are ManageWP IPs so I can allow them in my firewall settings?
It would be best to consult with your developer or host on the best way to allow these IPs.
If no action is taken, the backups will fail once the migration takes place.
Please let us know if you have any questions.
We thank you for your cooperation.
Groan! I didn’t know what they were talking about and I didn’t want to learn, so I phoned Hostmonster, my hosting company, and managed to find someone who was capable of dealing with the problem. He let me email him what Sucuri wanted, so it was out of my hands. I received an email Tuesday saying they had made the changes, so I passed that on to Sucuri. Sucuri wanted them to make sure some other parameters were set correctly, so there was some more passing back and forth, but it sounded as if everything was done by Tuesday night. Everything was working fine by the time I went to bed.
Then I received an email from Myra (thanks, Myra!) yesterday saying she couldn’t access my site. Sure enough, I couldn’t either, so I spent some time trying to get some technical support from Hostmonster again. Phoning and trying chat didn’t work as easily as before and I decided I was being dumb and went back to the support ticket and told them. By the time the chat fellow got back to me the problem was solved, with an explanation, and cheerfulmonk was working fine again.
Sorry about the gritty details, but they do illustrate the value of not wasting energy getting frustrated, instead focusing on keeping an alert mind in a relaxed body and on figuring out how to get the problem solved. It takes a lot of practice, but I personally think it’s worth the effort.
I’m still amused by that article.
January 16, 2025
OK, good advice, I tend to problem solve in my head, before doing anything else. Always hoping I’m on the right path.
Next week my GP has set up a 30minutes free session to sort how to go forward with my relapsed body mechanics.
I don’t know what the entire format is, but Monday I’ll rest at home. Maybe a spot of fiddling with glue and paper…
Good luck!
Great advice. Thanx CM.
God bless.
Thank you. š
…I fly through life by the seat of my pants.
As long as it works. We’re all different. š
Excellent advice. And a good approach to solving the website issue.
Thanks. š
You’ve more persistence — and resolve! — than I could ever imagine!
“Leverage uncertainty” doesn’t sound plausible (to me), but I love the author’s remaining bullet points; so much so I’m copying and putting in my treasure box.
Yes, I’m stubborn and hang in there. š
That sounds quite annoying to go through, but I think the points from the article are very valid. I would be totally lost also in anything to do with techie-world. If I didn’t have my son and DIL around I wouldn’t even have been online all these years–lol! Glad it is all working!! š
Thank you. š
Good grief! I have never heard of these two places, and getting these messages would sure send me into a tailspin. But you did good with letting an expert handle it. And making sure it was not a scam!!
Thank you. š
Very good!
Thank you. š
I had problems visiting yesterday too but I figured it was a temporary thing.
Thanks.
I don’t think I even understood most of what their emails to you said. I would probably not have been able to rectify the problem without help.
I’ve had a lot of experience by now.
I actually got nervous and upset just reading about all they said and you did and who you called and all this post. I would not have had a clue what they meant or how to do it. In fact I got a letter in the mail from our cable provider that says all kinds of things about changing channels to HD and blah blah blah and read it in he afternoon, did not get it, waited til next morning, because my brain works better in he am, and still do not fully understand it. but the worst thing that could happen if I don’t do what they say, is our DVR may not record the shows that are set to record….. until lately I have been able to keep up with tech stuff when they send it, but recently brain cells are not hitting on all cylinders
The main thing is not to panic and try to get some help.
Oh my word, I would be a mess! I am so glad you were able to get that worked out.
Thanks!
Aha, I wish I read this inspiration earlier. Iām about to leave for my third trip to DMV this week to resolve an issue that is painstakingly unnecessary for them, for me, and for my son who now gets to miss a half day of school so that we can put it to rest. All could have been prevented if information had been more clearly communicated during the online process. Glad Iām reading this now. Thank you for this ?
Good luck!
*Thank you for this.
Nevermind that question mark
I always ignore them because they usually mean someone has tried to use an emoji, which WordPress doesn’t allow here. It only likes smileys.
You know what my problem? That is such a long process – and unfortunately, I react way to fast! I need to slow down and breathe!
Yes! That’s the secret. š
I am glad you coukd handle it…not sure I could have.