Hello happiness seekers. Welcome back to the Alphabet of happiness 26 day boost where I bring you 26 days of science by happiness principles, one for every letter of the Alphabet. My name is Klaudia Mitura, I'm a work psychologist and certified Chief Happiness officer. And each day you'll get a practical tip in under five minutes designed to give your mood a real boost. And this is all in relation to celebrating the launch of my new book, the Alphabet of Happiness. So thank you so much for all of you who are listening and thank you to all of you who are tagging the book and me in your posts. I really appreciate your support. So remember, if you would like to spread more happiness when tagging me in the post about the book, tag other friends for a chance for them to win one of the three signed copies of my book. You can Tag me on LinkedIn at Claudia Mitura or on Instagram at the HappinessChallengeClaudia. If you simply cannot wait, by all means you can grab your own copies right now from all the key retailers, Amazon, Guardian, Bookshop, Blackwell's, Waterstones and more. And in the usa, before the physical book is launched, you can get the Kindle edition. And I know that Kindle edition is thriving currently. So thank you so much for your support there. And if you already got a copy and you're already reading and you're already engaging with the book, please share your review on Goodreads or any other retailers platform. I would love to hear your feedback. And today's letter I think it was the trickiest letter for the Alphabet of Happiness. It was X for X factor which was all about self belief to have a positive impact in the world. It was tricky because hey X as a letter but also as a concept because the con the entire concept of self belief it is a very complex, sometimes abstract way of thinking of how we feel we adding value in the world. So did you know that feeling unique is actually crucial ingredient to our happiness? Each of us has distinctive strengths, habits, behavior traits, talents and experiences that blend into our unique X factor. And when you understand your X factor and you feel unique, you are more likely to feel authentic which is associate with greater happiness and life satisfaction. And evidence also suggests that feeling unique boosts your self esteem helping you feel more optimistic about the future which leads to positive mental health. But the feeling of uniqueness might be crucial to happiness. But definitely we all been in situations when we have doubted ourselves we doubted our X factor. I've been there plenty of times. I called my imposter syndrome Linda. She often loves to undermining me. So actually the sense of uniqueness alone, it's not enough to fuel our happiness. We also need to believe in our X factor to feel truly happy in our own skin. Psychologist Albert Bandura defines self belief as our judgment of our X factor. In other words, the extent to which you believe you are capable individual with valuable distinctive X factor who can find a way to achieve what you set out to accomplish. In the Alphabet of Happiness, I explored different practical ways to fuel our self belief and become impact player in the world. And working on our self belief I think is like a really long term ongoing journey. But there are lots of different mechanisms that can help us to lift our self belief, especially on the days that we feel deflated. And one way to get that boost of self belief is to actually rely on our body to get the quick boost of empowerment. So according to social psychologist Amy Caddy, if people mimic powerful poses such as standing tall with their hands on their hips, they are more likely to experience a sense of empowerment and are more willing to take risks. Meanwhile, assuming powerless poses such as crossing hands or hunching our shoulders, leads to feeling less in control and avoiding chances. So today's action is that when you need a positive boost, focus on your posture for a split second and change it to a more powerful one. You can do it privately or you can do it on the spot in a pressurized situation. The idea is that you stand taller and you send that signal from your body that yes, I am confident. I am. I do believe in my X factor. Thank you so much for listening. I wish that you will be showing up confidently today by engaging in those power poses. We have two more letters to go, so I will see you tomorrow. And remember, if you would like a summary of all of the letters we've explored so far, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter on substack the Happiness Challenge. And if you still want to join my book launch at the Science Museum on 31st of October at 6pm in London, head to happinesschallenge.co.uk UK book there are only a handful of spaces left. I see you tomorrow. Bye.