How did you start to "get" programming?

Applied mathematics.

Started with my TI-89 scripting and javascript when I was younger and felt I was fine with programming.
A few years later ASM/C on a Cypress chip, I don't remember the model. It was fun times.
A few years more C++ and I started trying to do more complex stuff (still not there yet) and general scripting, SQL queries, etc.
At this point I mostly got the "general shape" of programming and could dwelve more or less quickly in scripting or other programming language.
A few years later Java at work, learned on the fly.

Currently back on my project with C++. With my general knowledge it's going smoothly. Base is stable enough but kind of barebone and I need to create content now, so 3D modeling, and training with drawings.

tl;dr: git gud, never stop. Convert time into XP in whatever skill that can interest you. Even remotely since some time later it could have grown on you.

Repetition of the basics until you have your footing, then applying it to create something you're interested in.

Thanks for the advice, this was actually surprisingly helpful

computer craft and redpower were absolute cum mods

Java is a terrible language to start off.
Go learn C.
youtube.com/watch?v=1S1fISh-pag

I wouldn't say it's math. Math is a set of symbols and rules on what ways to manipulate those symbols are valid that when followed allows us to model reality and predict the behavior of those models by building models that predict the behavior of those models.

Programming is all math. Everything -- from data structures, to type systems, to algorithms -- is math. If you don't know that, it's because you don't know enough mathematics. Pick up Knuth's The Art of Computer Programming or even an introductory book from that era like Wirth's Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs and you'll begin to get a feel for the mathematical underpinnings of programming. It used to be taught that way but it isn't anymore, which is a tragedy.