Find Gratitude When Your Mind and Body Isn't Cooperating
- Kristin Keough Williams
- Dec 2, 2025
- 5 min read
A Gentle Path to Self-Compassion
It’s a universal human experience: the frustration, the anger, and even the feeling of betrayal we feel like our own mind or body doesn’t perform the way we expect it to. Whether it's chronic pain, an unexpected illness, mental fog, or just the natural changes that come with age, it's easy to get caught in a cycle of negativity, by ruminating on what isn't working or what used to be.
But what if there was another way? A gentle path to finding moments of peace, even amidst the painful struggle?
This blog is inspired by my recent hypnosis YouTube Video (link below), designed not to deny your pain or challenges, but to guide you toward a deeper sense of gratitude and self-compassion for the incredible system that is your mind and body. It's not about denial but "selective attention"-what you choose to focus on.
Forgiving Your Body: Hypnosis for Mind & Body Gratitude https://youtu.be/T17jFtk7HHg
Releasing the Grip of Frustration
It’s completely natural to feel angry or frustrated when your body or mind isn't functioning as you desire. The aches and pains, the tension, the inability to do things you once loved, or even the struggle of just trying to get through the day. These feelings are valid.
What if however, we could choose to gently set that frustration aside? Not to ignore it permanently, but to give ourselves a brief respite. Acknowledging the challenges, and then actively consciously shifting our focus.
The Power of Focusing on What Is Working
This is where the magic begins. Instead of dwelling on the parts causing you pain or strife, let’s focus on the other parts. The parts that are working well, the parts that bring you moments of joy, comfort, or simply function without complaint. Research shows that your emotional state has a huge impact on physical pain. When you engage in positive thinking, gratitude, or distraction, you activate your brain's natural ability to regulate and reduce pain. Your focus is a powerful tool for relief.
It doesn't have to be grand. It could be:
The steady beat of your heart
Your ability to hear the birds outside your window
A small area of your body that does feels relaxed or has no feeling at all
The warmth in your hands
The gentle rise and fall of your breath
Even the tip of your little finger that bends and straightens effortlessly
Action Step: Close your eyes for a moment. Take a deep breath. Now, gently scan your body. Can you find just one part that feels good, or at least neutral and functional? Allow a soft, warm light to emanate from that spot. This isn't about ignoring pain; it's about acknowledging what is working within you.
Gratitude for Your Incredible Mind
The Power of Gratitude, Scientifically Proven: Research by psychologists Dr. Robert Emmons and Dr. Michael McCullough revealed the profound, measurable impact of focusing on thankfulness. In one study, participants who spent just a few moments each week writing about things they were grateful for experienced a boost in optimism and overall life satisfaction. Remarkably, this simple gratitude practice didn't just improve their mood—it led to tangible physical benefits, including increased exercise and fewer trips to the doctor, proving that acknowledging the good is a powerful prescription for holistic well-being.
Our minds are vast, complex, and capable of so much. Even when we face mental health challenges or cognitive difficulties, there are aspects of our minds that continue to serve us and acknowledging the good in our body can not only help us count our blessings but also actually make us feel better.
Think about:
Your ability to solve a simple problem
To organize your thoughts for a task
To remember a cherished happy memory
To feel empathy or love for others
To get lost in a good story
To dream, to fantasize, to be creative
To simply understand what you are reading right now
Your mind is a tireless worker, constantly processing, learning, and supporting you in countless ways. Even though you may feel that it gets away from you sometimes, it is trying to work for you. Acknowledge its strength and resilience.
The Essential Gift: Simply Being
Sometimes, in our pursuit of perfect health or peak performance, we forget the profound gift of simply being. As the saying goes, "Six feet above ground is a good day."
Consider the fundamental aspects of your existence:
Your ability to breathe the air
Your capacity to see the colors of the world
Your senses that allow you to taste, touch, see, smell, and hear
The simple pleasure of a warm shower, a cozy blanket, or a comfortable chair
The chance to rest, to sleep, to recharge
Being able to enjoy a tasty meal
These are not small things. These are the foundations of life, often overlooked until they are challenged.
Cultivating Your Gratitude Practice
This isn't a one-time fix, but a practice. Anytime you feel frustration creeping in, gently redirect your focus. Find those working parts, those moments of ease, those simple gifts. Allow that feeling of gratitude to expand, even if just for a few minutes.
Action Step: Right now, identify three things in your mind or body that you are truly grateful for in this very moment. Write them down, or simply hold them in your awareness. Allow yourself to feel thankful for the small ways your mind and body does work for you.
Resources for Deeper Exploration
This journey of self-compassion, acceptance, and gratitude is personal. Here are some books that can support you further:
"Radical Acceptance" by Tara Brach: Explores how to embrace ourselves and our lives fully, even with pain and imperfections.
"The Book of Joy" by Dalai Lama & Desmond Tutu: Offers profound insights into finding joy and resilience amidst suffering.
"When Things Fall Apart" by Pema Chödrön: A classic on working with difficult emotions and cultivating compassion by moving toward painful situations and becoming intimate with them to open our hearts in new ways.
"The Way Out: A Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven Approach to Healing Chronic Pain" by Alan Gordon: Offers a program based on Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) that teaches you to literally change the way your brain interprets pain signals, helping to rewire chronic pain pathways.
"The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture" by Dr. Gabor Maté and Daniel Maté: This book advocates for seeing disease not as an abnormal occurrence, but as a normal outcome of living in an abnormal (toxic) society thereby emphasizing the mind-body link in healing.
Remember, the journey toward gratitude for your mind and body is not about ignoring pain or pretending everything is perfect; it is about choosing to acknowledge the resilience, the essential functions, and the small, reliable joys that persist even amidst difficulty. By gently shifting your focus to what is working—the breath, the heartbeat, the capacity to think or feel—you cultivate self-compassion, build inner peace, and interrupt cycles of frustration, allowing yourself to find moments of deep rest and genuine thankfulness.
Sources:
National Library of Medicine (2015)
Harvard Health (2021)
If you'd like a summary of this blog-check out this audio:
