Dr. Frederik G. Pferdt shares a morning habit: telling himself and his children three sentences: "It's a beautiful day. It's your day. Let's make it the best one yet." He argues that positive emotions spread through emotional contagion and broaden thinking, and challenges listeners to repeat this mantra for seven days and become the first ray of sunlight for others.
Chapters
This morning I said 3 sentences to my kids. Took me maybe 10 seconds. It's a beautiful day. It's your day. Let's make it the best one yet. And I've been saying that for a while now. Not because the weather is always good like today. Not because the news are reassuring. But because of something that honestly took me longer than I'd like to admit to really understand. You don't wait for sunshine. You bring it. So I just got back from 12 days traveling traveling across Germany to Munich, Bonn, Lake Constance, to my hometown. I gave some talks, I met with people about our kids' makerspace TÜVDELEI, a makerspace where kids build things and discover that their ideas actually matter. But I also had this quiet intention I'd set for myself at the start of the year, which was just make friends. So I did. Long coffees, spontaneous walks, conversations that went way longer than actually planned. Which was great. And then spring arrived, the sun came out, cafes filled up and people sat outside, strangers actually smiled more easily, and everywhere I went someone said some version of the same thing: "Frederik, the sun is out, it just makes everything feel better." And they were right, but it got me thinking: What happens when the sun isn't out? Because life cannot depend on good weather, not the literal kind, and not the emotional kind either. Some days the sky is gray, the headlines are heavy, the future feels uncertain. If our inner state depends entirely on what's happening outside, we spend our lives waiting, waiting for better circumstances, waiting for the clouds to pass, But the most energizing people I've met, they don't wait. They bring the sunshine. And there's actually science behind this. A researcher, her name is Barbara Fredrickson, a psychologist, calls it the broaden and build effect. Positive emotions don't just feel good. They expand your thinking, open you to new ideas, and over time build the resilience that carries you through the harder days. And here's the thing: it follows action. You don't wait until you feel warm to create warmth. You create it, and then you feel it. And I've watched this happen in real time on this trip. When I remember when one person walked into a room with openness and that warmth, the energy shifted. Not gradually, immediately. And social scientists call it emotional contagion. We shape each other's internal states through the tone, the posture, expression, 100 small signals we barely even notice we're sending. Which actually means you have more influence than you think. You can walk into a room and bring clouds. Or you can walk into a room and bring sunshine. So let me get back to these 3 sentences. And I've been saying them to my kids every morning. Sometimes they roll their eyes, sometimes they put the blanket over their heads again. Sometimes I say it to myself. And over the past 12 days, I set them on stages in front of hundreds of people across Germany, and every time the room shifted. It's a beautiful day, not because the weather is perfect, Because today is a chance to live, to learn, to connect, to make something. It's your day. Take ownership of it. Shape it. Don't just let it happen to you. And let's make it the best one yet. A little ambition, a little optimism, a reminder that today is not just another day. So here's my challenge for you. Try it for 7 days. Say those sentences out loud. To yourself, to your partner, your kids, a friend, and then carry that energy into the first interaction you have. Be the first ray of sunlight someone experiences today, and you might be surprised how quickly the room warms up. The most reliable sunshine you have is the one you choose to bring. Once it starts shining, others start shining too. And suddenly, the whole day looks different. Your future is closer than you think. I'll see you there. This is Next Letter, and my name is Frederik G. Pferdt.
