I have a custom leather case for my journals and it is turning into my favorite object. I made it because I kept wrecking the mini journals that I use – putting them in bags or pockets was destroying. The cover is two layers of leather – the outer layer is deer hide and the inner is beaver fur. The fir provides enough friction to keep the journals from falling out without any cover or strap.

Over time, journalling has utterly transformed my thinking and habits. I used to use it for to-dos, then to capture thoughts, then to track habits, and now as a mix of all three. It’s freeing to write it down, knowing that I will sort that idea out later.

This story isn’t that interesting or powerful, but the transformation is real. I think that creating and working on many projects, over time, can have the same effect. Your first projects might not the same as the projects you work on years later, your goals will be different and your motivation has totally changed. But there is nothing that can be done to substitute the journey you go on.

That journal cover is precious to me because the journals, which are always changing, have become a fixture in my life. Now I am imagining that creativity, curiosity, and the desire to keep journeying into your own thinking is simular.

The underlying reasons might change (like the journals) but those ‘covers’ stick with you.