My favorite team, the Texas Longhorns, are out of the NCAA tournament and it doesn’t come as a surprise to me. All season they have been terrible free throw shooters, which led them to finish the season with a 63 percent free throw average. That average is totally weak and got me thinking about what would happen if I only did my regular day job at 63 percent of my capacity. Would I get fired? Would my boss create a plan to make me work harder? Would I feel bad that I wasn’t living up to my potential?
What if I was totally rocking out on special projects (3 point shots, dunks, etc.) but seriously neglecting my every day duties (free throws)? How long can you get by without doing the basic duties of your jobs? The Texas Longhorns made it through the season OK, but they couldn’t even make it through the first round of the NCAA tournament. This all really got me thinking about the importance of shooting free throws, because it’s not good enough to only be good at shooting threes. It is, and always will be, important to be great at the basic skills of your job.
It’s easy to neglect something that should come as naturally as shooting free throws, but there are a few things you can do to improve your percentage:
1. Keep a running list of your jobs basic skills
2. Practice!
3. Do one basic task every day in a new and innovative way
With the Longhorns out of the tournament, I now have all of my eggs in West Virginia’s basket. But they have a 70 percent free throw shooting average, and I have a feeling that they understand the importance of shooting free throws.
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