Like it or not, want it or not, you've been programmed. By life. Family. Friends. School. Culture. Religion. Society. Media. Social media. Experiences. Interactions. Relationships. In many ways, you weren't taught how to think but rather, told what to think. If you're like most, then many of your beliefs were not consciously chosen (by you) but rather, unconsciously adopted. In other words, their beliefs became your beliefs and you had very little say or awareness in it, or of it. Without knowing or choosing, you became a version of them. And when you pushed back against the group think, you were quickly corrected, chastised and coerced back into conformity and compliance, because that was the price of 'membership'. And no, not all programming and conditioning is bad (of course) but now that we're grown-ups, the challenge for us is to find the place where our programming finishes, and we start. Unconscious. Conscious.