Life As A Contest With Fate By Heinrich Von Kleist

When is the proper moment to think? Is it better to think before, during, or after an action? The writer, Heinrich von Kleist, argues that one should think after an act. He uses the example of a wrestler, â€Å"The athlete, at that moment when he is holding his opponent in his grip, simply has no recourse but to act spontaneously, on inspiration; and if he begins to calculate which muscles to contract and which limbs to move in order to throw him, he will always draw the short straw and be thrown himself† (Kleist, 1810). In this example Kleist is correct that it is more appropriate to reflect on your actions rather, but is this logic acceptable in all occasions? Or when an individual should think be dependent on the situation at hand? In the same essay, Kleist states â€Å"life itself is a contest with fate†, however should the entirety of life be treated as a contest (Kleist, 1810)? To begin with, is it better to think while you act? In the example stated previously, when the wrestler thought during he’s match, he resulted as the loser. In the film Fearless, Huo Yuannjia’s father faced a similar scenario. During a match to determine the better of two Wushu styles, Hou’s father meets defeat when he became lost in thought. In these situations, the individuals would have a higher chance of success if they acted on intuition rather than critical thinking. On the other hand, would acting on inspiration would be best during a test or homework assignment? While working on school assignments