What we think is not what we know. What we feel is what we know, even if it cannot be explained. There should be no inflexible intent in the beginning to be a jazz musician. That may not be one's eventual forte. Study music in general before taking up jazz in particular.
Jazz is a specialized process.
First learn what it is to play, which is a process for learning what you are. Find out what you are before deciding where you are going. Work from self back towards the convention - not to become absorbed by it, of course, but in order to contribute and to find a larger context in which to associate the music. The creative artist can never be part of the large convention, however, at least not for long. Jazz's contemporary convention is a result of the recording industry.