Welcome
I am a woman who has spent much of my life helping, coaching, and supporting others, and who has also had to learn how to rebuild from my own personal rock bottom.​
I’m Kristina Mathieu, founder of Authentic Pursuit, a doctoral candidate, educator, coach, wife, and mother. I hold a Master’s degree in Education and am currently completing doctoral work in the counseling field, with research focused on betrayal trauma, shame, and self-worth among women who have experienced physical marital infidelity.
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I have spent years working with individuals and families, helping people navigate relationships, conflict, growth, and difficult seasons. My training includes PREPARE/ENRICH certification, Gallup CliftonStrengths coaching training, and training in Restorative Practices.
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But my story is not built on credentials alone.
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I know what it feels like when life falls apart in ways you never expected. I know what it is like to question who you are, what you believed, what your future will look like, and whether you will ever feel like yourself again.
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I also know what it is like to slowly begin putting the pieces back together; not by becoming the person I was before, but by discovering who I wanted to become next.
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That journey changed the way I see healing, relationships, faith, identity, and purpose. It is also what led me to create Authentic Pursuit.
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Authentic Pursuit brings together my education, professional experience, faith, personal story, and years of walking alongside others. My goal is to create a place where people can be honest about where they are, better understand what is happening within them, reconnect with who they are, and begin moving forward with greater purpose, confidence, and hope.
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You do not have to have everything figured out to begin again. Sometimes the first step is simply deciding that what happened to you does not get to decide who you become.
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I am so glad you are here.
Authentic Pursuit's Story
Authentic Pursuit is a business that was created from the belief that life can look very different than we expected and still hold meaning, purpose, and joy.
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For a long time, I thought healing meant getting back to the person I was before the hard things happened. Over time, I began to realize that maybe the goal was not to go backward at all. Maybe it was about learning who I was now, understanding what I had walked through, and deciding intentionally who I wanted to become moving forward.
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Authentic Pursuit grew out of that journey.
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I know what it feels like when circumstances change the way you see yourself, your relationships, your future, and even the things you once felt certain about. I also know how easy it is to become so focused on fixing everything around you that you lose sight of what is happening inside of you.
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That is why Authentic Pursuit is about more than simply “getting through” difficult seasons. It is about helping people understand themselves more deeply, reconnect with what matters to them, and build a life that is not completely dependent on their circumstances being perfect.
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Through practical resources, education, coaching, conversations, and community, Authentic Pursuit creates space to explore the things many of us are already asking quietly:
Who am I now?
What am I actually feeling?
What do I need?
What do I value?
What is mine to carry; and what is not?
...And how do I move forward without allowing what happened to me to define the rest of my life?
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I do not believe we have to wait until everything is resolved, every relationship is repaired, or every circumstance changes before we are allowed to experience purpose and joy again.
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Sometimes the pursuit begins right in the middle of the unfinished story.
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That is what Authentic Pursuit is about—learning to live, heal, grow, reconnect, and pursue an authentic life even when life did not turn out exactly the way you planned.
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Progress Not Perfection.
Contact
I'm always looking for new and exciting opportunities. Let's connect.