The advice comes from so many sources -- to be able to access your intuition you have to "tune out the external noise."
Intuition doesn't necessarily require "quiet" or "inner peace" or "silence" -- your mind can be a busy, noisy place. Your mind can be full.
You're allowed to be mindful and noisy and a little bit looped -- but the "external stuff" probably is what's throwing you off the most.
Can you listen only to what is being generated within you?
What steps can you take to exclude the external interference?
- Stop comparing yourself to others.
- Stop watching other people do what you want to do.
- Stop waiting until you "know" before you take action.
- Stop waiting until you're "sure" before you dive in and find out.
Considering everyone else's opinion devalues your wisdom. Listening to everyone else's voice drowns out your authenticity. Worrying about everyone else's feelings muffles your truth. Seeing everyone else's point of view takes away your focus.
There comes a point at which you lock the door, go up into your Tower, blast the stereo (or put in your earplugs, depending on the work), and declare:
This is what I came here with. This is what I've got. This is what I most want to give. This is what I can't ever stop giving.
Accessing your intuition is mostly passive. It's not striving; it's allowing. Your purpose isn't about discovering something you've never imagined -- it's about uncovering what's already there.
If your intuition and your purpose intersect -- like mine -- check out my intuitive training.
Image credit Steve Mishos via Creative Commons on Flickr