Anxiety and self-confidence are funny things. On the surface, it seems like Lucy Mecklenburgh has it all. She’s drop-dead gorgeous, is running a successful business and is in a committed relationship with lovely bloke Ryan Thomas.
But it appears that still waters run deep, as Lucy has penned an emotional blog post detailing her battles with anxiety and the feeling that she’s not good enough.
The star may have found fame on reality TV, but has decided her calling is as a fitness guru, teaching others how to get in shape through diet and exercise.
And she clearly practices what she preaches, as she’s never looked better!
However, Lucy’s lifted the lid on what life is like in the limelight, where you’re constantly under pressure to look your best and succeed no matter what.
She wrote, in the piece for Huffington Post: “Throughout my adolescence I struggled with self-belief. A lack of confidence is responsible for many of us never reaching our full potential – instead of challenging ourselves and moving forward with what we want in life, we allow these fears, worries and doubts to lead us to live a life in the shadows of others, a life of untapped potential and a life fuelled by anxiety.
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“I know from personal experience that it doesn’t have to be like this and with the right tools, we can all overcome our anxieties and achieve our full potential.”
She went on to talk about her doubt about whether she could make it as a fitness mogul, writing: “Before I started my business, a lack of self-belief was the only thing holding me back.
“I questioned why would people take me, a 21 year old female, seriously in the male dominated fitness industry? Why would they listen to my advice over an older male professional?
“I was utterly consumed by other people’s perception of me as a young female, and was at risk of letting my dreams pass me by. I knew I had what it takes, but I thought it would be easier to accept other people’s idea of who I am rather than accept me for who I know I am.”
Lucy, whose relationship status has been thrown into turmoil since boyfriend Ryan Thomas took a once-in-a-lifetime job offer to appear in Neighbours, also perhaps hinted at how she’s now approaching romantic matters.
She said: “I have learnt that the only way to be successful is to be 100% myself, not everyone will like me but that’s OK, but lots of people do. You cannot please everyone all the time. Trying to be something you’re not in any aspect of life will just result in you being miserable!
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“I am also learning to trust to my own opinion over anyone else’s and to be proud of my achievements.”
It’s great that Lucy has taken this opportunity to talk about something that affects almost everyone – and it seems she has nothing to worry about, as she’s doing brilliantly. Now if only we could make Ryan move back from Australia, things would be perfect!