Coping with stress

A few weeks ago in my class on Sunday we learned some principles for coping with stress. There is one by Rick Warren that is so on target, I want to share it with you. The principle is this: Know whom you're trying to please. Jesus did. Here's what he said in John 5:30: "By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgement is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me." Listen, you can't please everybody, because by the time one group becomes pleased with you, another group gets upset with you.
When you don't know whom you're trying to please, you cave into thre things:
1. Criticism - because you are concerned what others will think of you.
2. Competition - because you worry about whether somebody else is getting ahead of you.
3. Conflict - because you are threatened when anyone disagrees with you.
Matt. 6:33 helps us understand that if I focus on pleasing God, it will simplify my life.
We love to blame our stress on other people and obligations. "You made me" "I have to"
Hardly anybody makes us do anything, so usually we can't blame other people for our stress. We are not victims unless we allow ourselves to be pressured by others peoples demands.