Is "This Is Just Who I Am" Really True? How Neuroplasticity Changes Our View of "Personality"

"I'm a worrier," "I'm easily bored," "I'm the type who doesn't like being in front of people."

When we talk about ourselves, we often treat our personality as if it were an unchangeable specification. Of course, this isn't always a bad thing. Knowing our tendencies can help us avoid overexertion and maintain healthy relationships. However, if this self-understanding solidifies into the conclusion that "this is just who I am," we might be maintaining the same patterns under the guise of self-protection.

An article published in Space Daily addresses this very feeling. The author had long considered themselves as someone who "worries easily," "dislikes silence," and "feels alive only with change or movement." The longer these tendencies persist, the more they seem like personality traits rather than mere behaviors. Repeated reactions eventually become labels like "this is who I am."

However, the author finds their assumptions shaken by the concept of neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's ability to change its structure, function, and neural connections through experience, learning, environment, and focus. It was once believed that significant changes in the brain occurred mainly during childhood, with adult brains being relatively fixed. However, it is now widely known that adult brains continue to change through learning, repetition, and experience.

The key here is not to reduce neuroplasticity to a simplistic self-help notion of "you can become anything if you try hard enough." Changing the brain is not the same as being able to control everything as desired. Anxiety, trauma, developmental traits, chronic stress, illness, and environmental factors cannot be easily rewritten by personal will alone. Yet, the fact that the brain continues to change indicates that we don't need to conclude that "my current reactions are my eternal self."

What stands out in the article is the expression "maintaining oneself as a finished product." A self as a finished product is like a shipped item with fixed specifications. If there are defects, they are repaired. Weak points are avoided. It is managed to prevent damage. In this scenario, the goal of life becomes maintenance rather than change.

On the other hand, if you view yourself as a "living system," the narrative changes. A living system responds to the environment, learns, adapts, sometimes deviates, and sometimes recovers. Because it is not complete, there is room for attention. Because it changes, there is no need to repeat yesterday's patterns today.

Consider anxiety, for example. Suppose someone routinely worries, anticipates the worst, overreads others' expressions, and repeatedly examines the possibility of failure in their mind. If this state persists, the person may come to think, "I am an anxious person." However, from another perspective, it can be seen as "a brain that has repeatedly engaged in danger-seeking behavior."

This difference may seem small but is actually significant. Thinking "I am an anxious person" makes it a personality issue. If it's a personality issue, the conclusion tends to be that it must be accepted. Of course, self-acceptance is important. However, if one considers, "I am currently engaging in behaviors that amplify anxiety," it becomes a behavioral issue. If it's a behavioral issue, it can be observed. There is a possibility of change. At the very least, there is room to try different responses.

What neuroplasticity indicates is precisely this room for change. The brain changes based on what we focus on, what we repeat, the environment we place ourselves in, and the behaviors we habituate. Learning that involves repetition, such as languages, musical instruments, exercise, meditation, interpersonal skills, and cognitive-behavioral therapy practices, affects neural circuits. Conversely, fear, avoidance, and self-criticism can also be reinforced if repeated.

Therefore, "changing oneself" does not mean a dramatic transformation. It does not mean waking up one morning as a different person. Rather, it is closer to noticing the reactions we have been repeating on autopilot and questioning, "Is this really necessary now?"

When feeling anxious, one might immediately start searching for information on a smartphone. When thinking they might have been disliked, they might ruminate over past conversations repeatedly. Before attempting a challenge, they might conclude, "I'm not cut out for this." These reactions may seem natural to the person. However, what seems natural and what is unchangeable are not the same.

Looking at reactions on social media, it's clear why this theme resonates with many people. Posts sharing the original article's title can be found on X, and the article is also introduced on LinkedIn. While the number of reactions isn't a large-scale buzz, the words from the article—"not a finished product, but a living system"—resonate well with those interested in self-understanding, mental health, careers, and learning.

Additionally, on Substack, there are posts referencing the original article and reinterpreting post-hospitalization brain dysfunction and skill recovery not as "a broken self" but as "a temporarily inaccessible system." Here, neuroplasticity is not just a positive slogan but is metaphorically described as "creating a path to abilities that feel lost," which aligns well with the theme of the original article.

On the other hand, more cautious reactions can be seen on Reddit. In discussions about neuroplasticity, there are comments pointing out that "plasticity means change occurs, not that people can control everything freely." This is very important. When discussing neuroplasticity as hope, there's a risk of inadvertently leaning into a narrative of "lack of change is due to insufficient effort," especially in contexts involving trauma, chronic anxiety, developmental traits, and mental disorders, which can be more discouraging than encouraging.

In another Reddit discussion, in response to the question, "Does neuroplasticity decrease with age, making it impossible to learn new things?" there are realistic responses indicating that while learning ease may change with age, it doesn't mean adults or seniors can't learn new things. This also relates to misunderstandings about personality and ability. Change may be slower as one becomes an adult, but slow is not the same as impossible.

In posts discussing self-change after the age of 30, voices are heard saying, "I gained more confidence than when I was younger," "I am less swayed by others' evaluations," "I can set boundaries," and "I choose what brings me joy rather than an ideal image of life." These are not stories of personality changing overnight. Rather, they are stories of how responses, values, interpersonal distance, and self-awareness gradually change with accumulated experience.

In this regard, neuroplasticity is not "the science of erasing personality." Introverted people don't have to force themselves to become extroverted, and those prone to anxiety don't have to completely eliminate their anxiety. What's important is not denying one's tendencies but discerning whether they are helping or constraining one's current life.

For example, caution can be a strength in avoiding danger. However, if caution becomes excessive, it can rob one of opportunities for challenge. Empathy can deepen relationships, but without boundaries, it can lead to exhaustion. Perfectionism can sometimes enhance quality, but it can also prevent action due to fear of failure. Every personality tendency has contexts where it is useful and contexts where its role has ended.

Viewing oneself as a living system means inspecting its functions. It involves asking, "This reaction might have protected me in the past, but is it still necessary now?" It's about reassessing whether the circuits formed in the past still fit the current environment, without blaming one's past self.

Here lies a calmness different from self-improvement. General self-help sometimes urges, "Become a better self," "Keep growing," "Change your habits." But the change suggested by the original article is more gentle. It's about observing, not monitoring oneself. It's about understanding patterns, not correcting flaws. It's about gradually updating outdated reactions, not reconstructing an ideal personality.

Indeed, personality research shows that while personality traits are relatively stable, they can change over a lifetime. Stability allows for "individuality," but changeability means "individuality" is not a fixed cage. Even if one's tendencies become clearer as they grow older, it doesn't mean the future is closed.

Of course, change comes with conditions. Repetition, environment, motivation, attention, support, and time are necessary. Often, it shouldn't be handled alone. If there are strong anxiety, depression, trauma responses, or symptoms that interfere with life, professional help is important. Neuroplasticity does not deny the value of treatment or support; rather, it is one reason why support and practice are meaningful.

The word "personality" that we use daily is convenient. However, it is also too convenient. It encapsulates habits, memories, environment, physical state, relationships, past experiences, defense mechanisms, values, and learned behaviors. So when we say, "This is my personality," there are actually many separate elements mixed within.

The perspective of neuroplasticity helps to slightly deconstruct this mixture. "Is this really personality, or is it a response strengthened by repetition?" "Is this helping my current self, or is it a remnant of adapting to an old environment?" Just by re-questioning these, the relationship with oneself changes a little.

People are not finished products. Therefore, there's no need to deny who you were until yesterday. But there's also no need to preserve who you were until yesterday indefinitely.

Personality is more like a landscape that changes shape over a long time than a fixed statue. Rain falls, wind blows, people walk, and the flow of rivers gradually carves paths. Mountains don't disappear suddenly. However, if the flow changes, the scenery changes.

When you feel like saying, "This is just who I am," try not to make it a conclusion but the beginning of observation. What reactions am I repeating now? What am I focusing on? In what situations am I taking the same path? Is that path still protecting me now?

Change is not about becoming a different person. It's about stopping treating oneself as a "finished product" and re-evaluating oneself as a "living entity that is maintained, responsive, and continuously growing." There may not be any flashy miracles. However, there is a realistic and quiet hope that daily small choices will gradually change the pathways of the brain and behavior.

Source & Reference URLs

Published in Space Daily. An article discussing the perspective that "personality is not a fixed finished product but a living system that can change" through neuroplasticity.
https://spacedaily.com/n-i-spent-years-assuming-my-personality-was-fixed-then-i-learned-what-neuroplasticity-actually-means-and-realised-i-had-been-maintaining-myself-like-a-finished-product-instead-of-a-living-syst/

Definition and Clinical Application of Neuroplasticity: A paper explaining neuroplasticity as the ability of the nervous system to reorganize its structure, function, and connections in response to internal and external stimuli.
https://academic.oup.com/brain/article/134/6/1591/369496

Stability and Change of Adult Personality Traits: A meta-analysis showing that while personality traits have stability, they can change over a lifetime.
https://experts.illinois.edu/en/publications/personality-stability-and-change-a-meta-analysis-of-longitudinal-/

Personality Intervention Studies: Research dealing with interventions related to emotional stability and extroversion in young and elderly individuals and changes in personality states.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s44271-025-00350-2

Number of Neurons in the Human Brain: A paper introducing research stating that there are approximately 86 billion neurons in the adult male brain.
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/neuro.09.031.2009/full

SNS Reactions: The original article is shared on LinkedIn, with the article title and a link to Space Daily confirmed to be posted.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/samaamoussalli_i-spent-years-assuming-my-personality-was-activity-7464155759690436608-FQB6

SNS & Blog Reactions: On Substack, a post referencing the original article and viewing recovery not as "a broken self" but as "a living system" is confirmed.
https://jameshood118.substack.com/p/the-free-guy-protocol-how-to-reconnect

SNS Related Discussions: On Reddit, a cautious view is posted stating that "neuroplasticity does not equal controllability."
https://www.reddit.com/r/CPTSD/comments/1ramk0j/neuroplasticity_does_not_equal_control/

SNS Related Discussions: On Reddit, a discussion about whether "neuroplasticity decreases with age, making it impossible to learn new things" is held.
https://www.reddit.com/r/IsItBullshit/comments/keedms/isitbullshit_as_you_get_older_your_brains/

SNS Related Discussions: A Reddit thread discussing changes in personality, values, and self-awareness from ages 25 to 35.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskWomenOver30/comments/gj7ytg/how_did_your_mindsetpersonality_change_between_25/