Podcast Summary: Living Your Legacy

Episode: Finding Growth Beyond Trauma
Host: Rudy Mawer
Guest: Paige Matheson (Clinical Counselor, CEO of Embracing Joy’s Network)
Date: September 22, 2025

Overview

This episode of “Living Your Legacy” features an insightful conversation with Paige Matheson, a clinical counselor and motivational speaker specializing in trauma-informed care and the promotion of joy, resilience, and purpose. Host Rudy Mawer and Paige explore how to move beyond trauma, embrace one’s authentic self, and build a life—and legacy—centered on happiness, human connection, and healing. Listeners will find actionable advice, unique perspectives on counseling, and empathetic encouragement for anyone stuck in the “rat race” or struggling to find fulfillment.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Importance of Alignment in Healing and Counseling

• Finding the Right Counselor:
  Paige emphasizes that effective healing requires a deep alignment between the client and the counselor.

  “Whoever we seek to help us has to be in alignment with who we are as a person. We can't make and move through trauma if we don't feel that there is light in our lives.”
  (A, 00:00)

• Counseling is Personal:
  She likens finding the right counselor to dating—suggesting listeners should be “picky” and refuse to settle for someone who doesn’t match their energy or needs.

  “It's like dating. I'm not gonna marry somebody I don't get along with…Be picky with who you choose. That's…a gift to yourself.”
  (A, 07:58)

2. Embracing Joy and Laughter as Healing Tools

• Laughter as Medicine:
  Paige describes her approach, which includes “laughter talks” and encouraging playfulness, even in professional or therapeutic settings.

  “I love helping people embrace more joy, especially laughter. Laughter is one of the keys…to really just remember that it doesn't have to be so serious.”
  (A, 02:13)

• Counteracting Life’s Seriousness:
  Rudy and Paige discuss how adulthood often leads to losing touch with joy due to societal scripts and professional expectations.

  “I want people to embrace the joys of life throughout because it goes well.” (A, 03:18)

3. Breaking Generational and Environmental Patterns

• Inherited Mindsets:
  Both share personal stories growing up in small towns, feeling a mismatch between inherited expectations and their personal ambitions.

  “It's really hard to fight against what the people that we trusted to raise us…taught us.”
  (A, 13:34)

• The Power of Changing Your Environment:
  Leaving one’s hometown or familiar environment is often a catalyst for personal growth and transformation.

  “Once you leave the environment and you invest, immerse in a new one, everything changes all of a sudden.”
  (B, 14:03)

4. Overcoming Trauma and Pursuing Post-Traumatic Growth

• Trauma and Growth:
  Paige specializes in helping people transition from trauma to “post-traumatic growth,” focusing on who they become—rather than what happened.

  “Helping people get from ‘I'm traumatized’ to post-traumatic growth. Getting to that space of ‘I'm on the other side of it.’”
  (A, 07:03)

• Resilience Through Joy:
  She highlights that accessing joy and humor is essential, even in dark times, and it’s not only possible but necessary for healing.

  “Joy is an act of rebellion in times of turmoil and strife.”
  (A, 18:05)

5. Navigating Change—At Any Age

• Breaking Free from “The Script”:
  Many are conditioned to pursue safe, predictable careers and postpone happiness until retirement—a path Paige urges us to reconsider.

  “The generations before…you do the work, then you retire and then you can have fun. And I’m like, Whoa. What if I don’t even make it till then?”
  (A, 15:31)

• On Taking Risks:
  Paige explains she’s more afraid of unhappiness than failure, advocating for bold changes even when the outcome is uncertain.

  “I'm more fearful of living a life that I know exactly what it is and I'm not happy. I would much rather take the risk and fall flat on my face…”
  (A, 16:44)

6. The Role of Community and Connection

• Creating Embracing Joy’s Network:
  Paige’s business is built on the principle that community, laughter, and authentic connection are vital for well-being.

  “When people know that you yourself are supported and…actually show your humanness, which our laughter is, it gives permission for my clients to be themselves. And that’s the magic.”
  (A, 05:51)

• Combating Division:
  She notes that online algorithms and modern culture often reinforce isolation—her mission is to counteract this with kindness, community, and positivity.

  “We can unicorn each other instead of troll each other…just to be nice.”
  (A, 09:20)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The more that we embrace our humanness and hold space for both the difficulties and the things that feel really good, the yuck and the yum, we're actually being able to create more of a space to just move through whatever happens.”
  — Paige Matheson, (A, 00:47 & 17:31)

• “Laughter is in us because it's one of our healing models of making it through. We wouldn't have it in us as a species if it wasn't meant to be there.”
  — Paige Matheson, (A, 18:05)

• “Joy is an act of rebellion in times of turmoil and strife.”
  — Paige Matheson, (A, 18:05)

• “We, which is the most dominant species on the planet, have the least, least joy somehow.”
  — Rudy Mawer, (B, 18:35)

• “Once you leave the environment and you invest, immerse in a new one, everything changes all of a sudden.”
  — Rudy Mawer, (B, 14:03)

Timestamped Highlights

• 00:00–01:00: Defining the need for aligned support in trauma recovery
• 02:13–02:31: Introduction to Paige’s “laughter talks”—using playfulness in healing
• 03:10–03:18: “Midlife crises” and the loss of personal joy through following societal scripts
• 05:20–05:51: Why some counseling falls flat—importance of connection and therapist humanity
• 07:03–07:26: Paige describes “post-traumatic growth” as a counseling focus
• 09:20–10:10: Social media’s impact on hope, community, and joy
• 13:34–14:03: Intergenerational conditioning and the challenge of personal transformation
• 15:31–16:13: The difficulty and necessity of risk-taking at any age
• 18:05–18:35: Defining legacy: the essential role of joy and laughter, even amidst trauma

Legacy, Takeaways, and Where to Find Paige

• Paige’s Legacy: To leave a world where people know it’s okay—and essential—to find joy, even in difficult times.

  “The more we can lean into the joys of life, the more that we can make it through the toughest times.”
  (A, 18:05)

• Actionable Wisdom:

  • Seek support that truly fits who you are—don’t settle.
  • Use laughter and playfulness as vital tools in healing.
  • You can choose growth, change, and joy—regardless of your past, environment, or age.
  • Breaking old patterns is hard, but possible and deeply worthwhile.

• Connect with Paige:

  • Instagram: @EmbracingJoys
  • Embracing Joys Collective platform: One-time membership for ongoing resources.

For listeners seeking not only inspiration but also practical tools for personal growth, this episode is a heartfelt guide to building your own joyful legacy—no matter where you begin.