From overcoming anxiety and depression, to developing her own business in personal development, Lucy Smith tells us her inspiring story…
When you were a child what did you want to be when you grew up?
I always wanted to work with children. I was passionate about helping people, especially children.
Why did you study childcare at college?
I wanted to work in childcare, I always knew that’s what I wanted to do. After college I got a job at a nursery and worked there for 4 years before starting as a teaching assistant in a special needs secondary school.
What was it about personal development that interested you?
During my education I had always been shy and found it difficult socialising. It wasn’t until a few years ago I realised I was suffering with anxiety and depression. I built up the courage to go to the doctors and ended up seeing a counsellor every week for a couple of months. The tools she gave me really helped, I overcame my fear of driving and shopping alone. As well as improving anger and stress management and generally feeling happier. She recommended the book ‘Finding Peace In A Frantic World’ which is what introduced me to the personal development world. I then began reading every book I could, discovered podcasts, YouTube channels and so much more that supported me on my journey.
Don’t worry about what others think of you, don’t give it any thought. All that matters is how you feel about yourself.
How have you overcome your confidence issues?
I truly believe that confidence is a lot to do with how you feel about yourself and your mindset. As I felt happier and overcame my fears I began to believe in myself more which in turn grew my confidence. When I did my NLP course I learnt a great tool for instantly feeling a desired state, so I’ve since created one for confidence and use it when needed. Luckily it isn’t that often as my mindset is so strong now from all the personal development I do daily. Read: My Morning Routine
What were the difficulties in starting your own business?
The main difficulty for me was maintaining a positive mindset and continuing to believe in myself when I didn’t instantly get clients. I knew that it would take a while to get regular clients, but at the start, I did have the occasional knock to my confidence when it didn’t happen. I managed to work through this using NLP techniques and committing to working on my personal development daily.
What advice would you give someone who also suffered from anxiety and lack of confidence?
I would say to them to not be too hard on themselves. To understand that everyone has challenges and everyone has a bad day and it doesn’t make them a bad person. Personal development is so useful to improving your mindset so I would highly recommend looking at podcasts and YouTube channels for support and ideas. Make time for yourself to look after yourself, this will help in so many ways. Listen to to what your body is telling you, if you want a break from your to-do list then take one and don’t feel guilty. You have to put yourself first to feel and be the best you can be.
What advice would you give your younger self?
The only judgement and opinions that matter are your own. Don’t worry about what others think of you, don’t give it any thought. All that matters is how you feel about yourself. I definitely needed this advice in school when my confidence lacked most.
About Lucy
Lucy is a personal development coach at www.succeednow.co.uk. She has always been passionate about helping others and after overcoming her own challenges decided to train in NLP and become a personal development coach to help others improve their mindset.
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14 comments
I suffer from anxiety and depression and I l loved reading your blog I look forward to reading more and i am going to share this blog post with my friends and family 🙂
So inspiring! Definitely important to not worry about what others think of you.
Nice interview, and good tips to help with anxiety and low confidence
This is a welcome nudge to read the NLP course book I just bought, thank you. An inspiration
I dealt with anxiety for a long time…it’s not easy. This was great, loved reading it!
Such a lovely interview! Perfect inspiration for those who lack self confidence. Thank you!
Great tips for everyone. I can relate to so many of these points especially not socializing in school. Great post!
Such an inspiring story! I’m so happy you shared it. 🙂
This is such a great series! Whenever I start feeling a lack of inspiration, I always seek out stories that are similar to mine. I think we sometimes forget that we are not alone in the world, no matter how much we feel as if we are.
Great post! x
What a great blog. This is an issue for so many, and I agree. Stop worrying about what others think, and focus on yourself.
I agree that confidence is tied to how we feel about ourselves and our mindset. And though we all have bad days it is important that we find ways to remain confident even through bad days.
I completely agree with the sentiment about not worrying what other people think. Life is too short to worry about how others perceive you.
Wow, so true to not be worried about what others are thinking about you, but also very difficult, it’s easy to fall into that negative head space sometimes, what a great reminder!! Thank you!
This is a great story! I love how you encourage us to keep a healthy and positive mindset which grows into having more confidence. This is so true. I believe that confidence follows the action. Fear is what stands in our way from performing the action. If we can have enough courage to sidestep the fear… we’ll gain more confidence.