We stand at the beginning of a new year, and being at this point recalls a line written by the late author J.R.R. Tolkien in which he points out that it is not for us to decide what times we live in.

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us,” he wrote.

The high school basketball season offers a useful parallel to what we experience when one year is succeeded by another, and the newspaper business points to a key tool to make the new year a successful one for you.

Basketball season is always in progress when we switch to a new calendar. Similarly for us at this point, life isn’t over, and it isn’t just beginning either — it’s continuing. The coming of a new year doesn’t have to represent a jarring transition, but it can be this if we feel like we need it to be. It can also be a refreshing segue.

The point is that, to a great extent, this juncture can be what we decide it to be.

Randolph-Henry High School’s varsity boys basketball team carries a 2-4 record into 2019, while the varsity girls team carries in a 1-2 record. Both squads will likely see the new year as a fresh start. But they may also interpret it as a gateway through which they can build momentum established by their existing wins, and if that is so, their coaches will probably be setting goals to make that “construction project” happen.

Napoleon Hill is quoted as saying, “A goal is a dream with a deadline.”

We in the newspaper business know from regular experience the importance of deadlines. They are what help ensure that you receive the news each week in a timely manner.

We wish you all a happy new year in which your dreams transition effectively to reality.