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Listen to the music amidst noise:   

• It is natural that these noises can act as a strong distraction. Sometimes, these are very potent as well. This article is not about magically achieving your goals in an unreal world. There are problems in front of us. Although romantically I would like to call them opportunities – they still are in the way of what you really want. 
• The key question to ask is – what is it that you really want? Are your reasons strong enough to put all your energies and actions to achieve this? If they are not, what can you do to strengthen these reasons? 
  
• Remember, your goal is only as strong as the foundation you give to it. If it is running out of reasons, a solution would be to find a retreat of your own and identify why it is needed in the first place. If I may point you, I would point in the direction of why you started in the first place.  

Separate noise from Feedback:  

This is the single most important thing about noise. It is all well and great to listen to the music amidst noise. In fact, I see full value in the quote by Vikram Sarabhai about focus in our lives. It is terribly important to separate out noise from feedback.  

It is a rather delicate one – many a time these feedbacks come as a way of noise and as an unpleasant one. You’ve got to arrive at that decision. Some key questions which can help you separate the noise from feedback are:  

How true is this news?  

What is the confidence factor? If it is a hearsay – best to treat it like a gossip and ignore. However, if it is from official sources, you could classify it as a 100%. The % might sound like a marker, but helps you quantify a certain input/ information. If it is pure noise, the value would obviously be 0%  

Source of information:  

If is from an unofficial source, the key questions to ask are:  

• What does the source gain if you believe in this information?  
• What is at stake?  
• Even if it is true – does this information help you currently or can you wait until the official information comes out. 
  

Pattern of information:

I am a true believer in patterns. They tend to give us a lot more information than we can see at face value. If you are seeing some things happen in a particular way – perhaps there is a level of seriousness to it. It may either be a noise or truth, but it is something which is begging for your attention. I am not suggesting that you should do something about it. If you decide to do nothing, it needs to be a conscious decision of yours. After all, if the advice is to ignore the noise or to listen to the music amidst noise, it needs to come from your consciousness and decision making.