In law and finance, there is this concept of creating a ‘deal sheet’ which lists out all the deals you have worked on in your career and your contributions in the deal. You can use the deal sheet in your resume and in job interviews to then explain your skills and experience to someone else or use the deal sheet show your expertise to clients. For dispute work, lawyers similarly create a ‘notable matters’ list which sets out the court cases they have worked on and what their role was in the case.

I am learning to create a ‘deal sheet’ of my achievements and instances where I got things done even when I didnt want to. The reason for this list is that it gives my brain proof that I have a history and ability to complete things and staying true to my word – something I can forget when I am negotiating with my emotions and making choices.

Sometimes when I feel doubtful about whether I should make the correct choice (since it is hard) or follow through and complete a task (despite how hard it is), I use this deal sheet to remind myself that I am someone who has a history of completing stuff no matter what and how I feel. I give my brain solid proof of my identity – “I am someone who gets shit done and look at all this proof of that”.

The brilliant part about this is that every instance of completing an achievement self-serves this deal sheet because it then becomes proof of my ability to complete stuff.

The reason why it works is because my mind had formed the identity that I am someone who says a lot but does not put their money where their mouth is. I can talk the talk but could not walk the walk. In support of this, my brain could find a million instances across the years where I abandoned things halfway, did things which I said I would not do, or managed to convince myself that I did not need to do the right thing because it was not somehow important enough or I didnt care enough for it.

When my brain thinks this way about me, it is not possible for it to stick around and do the difficult tasks because my brain thinks that is not ‘me’. So, discipline and follow through arises from shifting my identity into someone who is disciplined and does follow through. This identity shift requires a shift of perspective and focus. I no longer want my brain to think about and identify with my failures but rather my successes. I have to remind that I am still that person who has acheived things in the past.

The deal sheet is a way to remind the brain that I am capable of achievement and that is my identity – someone who achieves thing. This makes it easier to achieve things in the present and the future.

As a result, I often find myself now saying “finish it for the deal sheet”. Do or finish the thing as proof of your ability to complete things no matter what. Each small proof provides the right foundation required to complete the big hard things. Reminding myself of these small proof and doing things to have this proof is really useful way to shift identity and to build the skills required to achieve success.