I believe that it takes more to be inspired than to inspire yourself. When finding yourself in a position to inspire it sometimes becomes a great internal struggle that can make a person retreat so far within themselves, that the person who remains visible becomes hardly recognizable. I am aware that Kleist's "Paradox" is not about inspiration, but rather, preparation and instinct. However, if you think about it, it is our instinct that inspires us to prepare; and in turn, it is the moment that inspires us to act on that very same instinct. Not for lack of a better situation I will use an athlete and a businessman to examine this phenomenon of thinking things over. A boxer is a very good example of acting upon instinct, but that instinct is honed and crafted through years and years of preparation, it is not merely impressed upon him the night before a match. That is the very same when it comes to life; the less prepared things are, the more likely they are to get caught up in the moment. If a businessman doesn't prepare his presentation well enough and is stumbling over his words and losing his poise, it is very unlikely that he will impress the investors. I remember waiting until the last second to write an essay for an English class, and I must say, it is very difficult to get inspired once the moment has already taken over and is passing you by. Thinking things over comes after the inspiration has already taken hold and it becomes time to prepare for the storm of moments that will shape our character and our instinct. Therefore, I must amend my original statement to this; I believe that it takes more to inspire yourself than to actually be inspired. Now that I have explained the inspired instinct of preparation, I will explain the inspired instinct caught within each moment, big or small. Once again I will use a boxer as an example. After the first blow of a match, everything he does is based off of instinct, it is a trained response to certain situations.
