In this day and age, our view of the pursuit of happiness has become ambiguous. The connection between our inner and outer lives is complicated. Inner lives are about how we perceive how we appear to ourselves. External lives involve what we see around us as permanent or solid. However, they do not realize what makes us happy inside, and the relationship between inner and outer life becomes more complex. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayOf course, many people simply focus on their own inner lives and perceive the expectations of the outside world, which decides how we react to those around us within our community. Furthermore, when people try to find the meaning of happiness and the pursuit of success in their lives, they are more likely to face external problems and it is difficult to find what makes them happy. The truth is that the inner world is not shaped by external circumstances, but is shaped by our experiences, our imagination and our thinking. Zadie Smith in “Find Your Beach” and Colson Whitehead in “City Limits” represent how people are less concerned about their inner selves, even if this is much more powerful than external circumstances. Both express their experiences of seeking happiness in certain ways in their private lives. Smith realizes that a version of Americans finds happiness by drinking beer. They create the illusion of happiness, but she doesn't believe it's reality. As a result, the relationship between our inner life and external circumstances can be dangerous because our perceptions often create delusions about reality. Htun 1Creating incorrect expectations can be harmful when pursuing happiness. Pursuing happiness as the American dream, such as making money, having a better life, and having a good job, cannot bring happiness because it is not permanent for life. Smith shows numerous examples of why this is true. For example, he states: “Actively pursue happiness, as Americans believe it is their right to do. And it's beer advertising, which makes you happy like all intoxicants, reshaping reality around a sensation that only you feel" (2). In other words, Smith is saying that if you tend to find your happiness with alcohol, it is not your true inner happiness but your inner life becomes unbalanced and you become more stressed and limit your mind. Smith demonstrates how people look at advertising: “Now the advertising says: find your beach. The beer bottle - it's an advertisement for beer - is very yellow and the background is blue luxury holidays”, ( 1). Overall, it talks about how people see advertising differently and what the expectation can bring about how it makes them happy. Additionally, Smith talks about how people will decide to relentlessly spend their time working and working. She states, “In the future we will take a pill to make us limitless (and ideal citizens of Manhattan),” (2). Basically Smith brings a sense of our inner life and advice on how not to accumulate stress. and become aware of our mind. Therefore, by reducing expectations, we can focus on ourselves. The inner world that we are sure is the real world is not as real as we believe. Colson Whitehead mentions in his “City Limits” passages, “The New York City you live in is not my New York City,” (2). What he means by this is that we all see different parts of New York that we call home and it remains how people see New York City differently, in their own way. Also, Htun 2Whitehead obviously mentions if you can do all that here"., 2005.