Yeah, I know what you're talking about and I've been there.

I used to stress a lot about other people's expectations of me, especially when my heart wanted to go in one direction, but someone else wanted to me do something completely different. When one of my friends had a problem, I just wanted to fix it for them, whether they wanted my help or not. When people I cared for had disagreements, I wanted to fix those, too.

I still prefer to live up to expectations, to help friends with problems, and to help loved ones work out disagreements. But I've learned to accept that there are things I can do — and then there are things that are beyond my control. Other people's expectations belong entirely to them. That's beyond my control. My expectations for myself (and yours for yourself) are the ones that matter. They're within our control. I offer help with problems and disagreements, and give help if it's wanted. Otherwise, I let it go, and let other people work out their own issues. This has made me a MUCH happier, effective person.

Learning to live for oneself, and learning to let go of what you can't control, isn't easy at first. But it's important to learn, and one of the first necessary steps towards true maturity, and happiness. Hang in there. It does get better.