What Are You Watching? It May Be Programming You More Than You Realize
Overview
Have you ever finished watching a movie and found yourself thinking about it for days?
Or caught yourself humming a song you didn’t even like?
Or repeated a phrase you heard online without realizing where it came from?
Most of us have.
And I don’t think that’s an accident.
Whether we realize it or not, what we repeatedly watch, listen to, and consume becomes part of the environment our minds are constantly learning from.
That’s one of the reasons I’m so intentional about what I allow into my life.
Not because I believe we should fear the world.
Because I believe our attention is one of the most valuable things we own.
Your Brain Is Always Learning
One of the most fascinating things about the human brain is that it never completely stops learning.
Every conversation…
Every headline…
Every television show…
Every social media video…
Every song…
Every book…
Every experience…
Leaves some kind of impression.
Not every impression changes us.
But repeated patterns often do.
The ideas we hear over and over again begin to feel familiar.
And what feels familiar often starts to feel normal.
The Other 95%
One of the central ideas I explore is what I call The Other 95%.
Much of our daily behavior isn’t driven by deliberate, conscious decisions every moment of the day.
Instead, we’re often influenced by habits, routines, emotional associations, and learned patterns operating beneath the surface of our awareness.
That’s why repetition matters.
If you repeatedly expose yourself to messages rooted in fear, outrage, hopelessness, or constant comparison, don’t be surprised if those emotions begin showing up more often in your own life.
Likewise, if you consistently fill your mind with ideas that encourage learning, gratitude, compassion, creativity, and hope, those patterns also have more opportunities to grow.
Entertainment Isn’t Just Entertainment
I’m not suggesting every movie has a hidden agenda.
Or that every television show is trying to manipulate you.
Sometimes entertainment is simply entertainment.
But stories have always shaped human beings.
Long before television or social media existed, stories influenced how people understood courage, love, sacrifice, community, and purpose.
The stories we consume still matter.
They influence what we admire.
What we fear.
What we expect.
And sometimes, what we believe is possible.
Ask Better Questions
Instead of asking,
“Was this entertaining?”
I’ve started asking questions like:
How did this make me feel?
What ideas did it reinforce?
Did it leave me more hopeful or more fearful?
Would I become a better person if I consumed this every day?
Those questions have changed the way I choose what deserves my attention.
Protect Your Attention
Your attention is limited.
Every hour you spend consuming something is an hour you’re allowing it to shape your thinking in some way.
That doesn’t mean you can never relax.
It doesn’t mean every piece of content has to be educational.
It simply means being intentional.
If you feed your mind intentionally, you’ll often think more intentionally.
Choose What You Feed Your Mind
Just as your body is built from the food you eat, your thinking is influenced by the ideas you consume.
Read books that challenge you.
Listen to conversations that make you think.
Spend time with people who bring out your best.
Step outside.
Be present.
Leave room for silence.
Some of the most important insights I’ve ever had didn’t come while I was scrolling.
They came after I stopped.
My Perspective
I don’t believe we’re powerless.
I don’t believe we’re simply products of our environment.
I do believe our environment influences us more than most of us realize.
The encouraging part is this:
We have a choice.
Every day we decide what deserves our attention.
And over time, those choices begin shaping the person we’re becoming.
That’s one reason I created Who Programmed You?
Not because I think someone else controls your life.
But because I believe every one of us benefits from occasionally asking:
Who—or what—is shaping the way I think?
When you begin asking that question honestly, something interesting happens.
You stop consuming everything automatically.
You start choosing more intentionally.
And that may be one of the most important shifts you ever make.
Final Thoughts
The world has never competed harder for your attention than it does today.
Every app.
Every notification.
Every advertisement.
Every video.
Every headline.
Someone is asking for a few more seconds of your mind.
Choose wisely.
Because what you watch today has the potential to influence how you think tomorrow.
And how you think tomorrow helps shape the person you become.
That’s why I don’t just ask myself what’s worth watching.
I ask myself what’s worth becoming.
The answer to that question has changed far more than my screen time.
It’s changed my life.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can what I watch really influence how I think?
Whether we realize it or not, what we repeatedly watch, listen to, and consume becomes part of the environment our minds are constantly learning from. Not every impression changes us, but repeated patterns often do. The ideas we hear over and over begin to feel familiar, and what feels familiar often starts to feel normal.
Is all entertainment secretly trying to manipulate me?
I'm not suggesting every movie has a hidden agenda or that every show is trying to manipulate you. Sometimes entertainment is simply entertainment. But stories have always shaped human beings, influencing what we admire, what we fear, what we expect, and sometimes what we believe is possible.
How can I be more intentional about what I watch?
Instead of only asking whether something was entertaining, I've started asking how it made me feel, what ideas it reinforced, and whether it left me more hopeful or more fearful. I also ask whether I'd become a better person if I consumed it every day. Those questions changed the way I choose what deserves my attention.