Matt McCarthy: How Trauma Keeps You From Accomplishment

Podcast 306

In this episode of Health Coach Conversations, Cathy Sykora speaks with Matt McCarthy about how unresolved trauma can hinder our ability to accomplish goals and find fulfillment. Matt shares his personal experiences with developmental trauma and how early life events can create long-lasting fear responses like fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. They dive into why simply telling clients to “have grit” or “use a growth mindset” isn’t enough for many people and how trauma-informed coaching can make a difference. Listeners will walk away with practical steps and long-term strategies to help themselves—or their clients—move forward with more resilience and calm.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why trauma makes it difficult to access grit and apply a growth mindset
• How early childhood experiences can impact adult emotional responses
• The difference between trauma therapy and trauma coaching
• Why identifying a client’s true “why” is crucial to helping them achieve goals
• A simple breathing exercise to break the freeze response
• Four essential areas where creating space can reduce stress: financial, time, mental, and emotional
• How a free trauma impact assessment can help identify hidden barriers to success

Matt McCarthy is the founder and president of Questful, a personal coaching and business consulting organization focused on the continued quest toward mission and purpose.

Matt’s experience is comprised of over 25+ years in business transformation combined with over 10 years studying achievement, wellbeing, and health from several directions, including psychology, nutrition, neurology, physiology, and mindfulness.

His latest project is the culmination of 5 years studying the reasons we get stuck achieving our goals, and how to break through those areas.

Memorable Quotes:

• “If we already have the belief that we can accomplish something, we’ll have the grit inherent in us.”
• “You don’t always have to remember it for it to be detrimental or traumatic.”
• “Creating space in your life is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself for healing.”

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