At some point over the past couple of days, I became aware of a news story of vital importance to the real estate industry. As I went about my days, I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd missed something and then it hit me. What I'd missed was any sense of caring about the story. I'm a homeowner, REALTOR, wage earner, tax payer, business builder and so on. News of that nature is such that I should have wanted to devour the details and evaluate the repercussions to me, my clients and the country at large.

Right this minute, some of the top stories on Inman News are

• FDIC expects more bank failures
• Crunch time for Fannie and Freddie?
• California, Florida drive record foreclosures
• The Canadians are coming
• Video: California needs Fannie, Freddie
• First-time buyers want larger homes, not f...
• NAR blogs through conventions
• Rating system enables abuse
• Two Ohio MLSs to form single database

and with the possible exception of the Ohio MLS story ( I don't live & work in Ohio), I should probably read each and every one of them in order to maintain my understanding of forces in the market place. I should understand the impact and advise my clients. I'm sitting here shoulding all over myself and still I simply do not want to read another word about the doom, gloom and folly that has swept real estate in many communities across the country.

Why not? Because my focus was on how bad things are. How little I can do. How hard it is to understand what is happening. How futile it is to try to keep up on the shifts occuring on a daily basis.

Note that I said that WAS my focus. Once I recognized that my focus was completely unsupportive of the outcomes I desire, I knew I could change that focus. I will read, watch, and listen to the news with a better perspective and move on with renewed commitment to my chosen profession.