Where is the line?

I follow a lot of blogs. Some on graphic design, some on God-stuff, some just because they are funny and make me laugh (www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com) but a lot on commercial real estate, architecture and structural engineering.

I do this because being a structural engineer who designs the structures of buildings and whose clients are predominately architects, I need to stay up to date on the status of the industry. Also, being the Marketing Director for our firm, I am frequently asked by other Principals as to the outlook for our industry.

So I read a lot of blogs, and right now, the vast majority of these blogs are filled with nothing but bad news. Supposedly the weakest sector in the American economy is commercial real estate, and it is going to do nothing but get worse in the next year. This is according to a lot of supposedly smart people who get paid to predict these sorts of things.

I hate reading all of this bad information. Fear is not a virtue. God specifically tells us not to worry and to not be afraid, so every time I read all this bad news, I am forced to deal with fear. My fear for my job, my company, and my family is rational given the economic circumstances, however, I have a tendency to let fear control me. I can easily let fear and worry change the way I act, treat my family, react to stress and affect many other areas of my life. I need to stay away from those things that bring about fear.

So what am I to do? Do I quit reading the news and become uninformed? So when I am asked, "How's it looking out there?" do I just ignore the question or say that I have no idea because I am too scared to find out?

I feel that my ignoring or selectively reading the news, I am just sticking my head in the sand and not confronting the truth. However, this approach does lead to more happiness and peace in my life and in my home. Maybe I think that being informed is important, but I do not know where I get that from.

The pragmatic side of me says to unsubscribe to all those blogs and just go about my day in an ignorant blissful daze. But the theoretical side of me says I should continually confront those things that cause fear so I can grow and learn to trust.

Where is the line?