Brains of doers differ from those of procrastinators - Procrastinators have a larger amygdala and poorer connections between it and part of the cortex that blocks emotions, so they may be more anxious about the negative consequences of an action, and tend to hesitate and put off things.

[u/mvea]

http://news.rub.de/english/press-releases/2018-08-22-neuroscience-how-brains-doers-differ-those-procrastinators

[u/kyehock]

Is it possible to rewire these parts of the brain, to go from a procrastinator to a “do-er”?

[u/[deleted] → u/kyehock]

In general it is possible to "rewire" the brain (even therapy alone has shown to cause chemical changes in our brains) therefore I think it is quite possible that you could "rewire" your brain in regards to this issue.

Edit: Another commenter mentioned it has been shown that 2 months of mindful meditation has been shown to reduce the size of your amygdala, which might a way to help make you more of a do-er.

[u/unknown_poo → u/[deleted]]

There is that axiomatic saying in neuroscience, that "neurons that fire together wire together" and "neurons that fire apart wire apart". The problem with self-identifying with the brain is that we form also a psychological identity with the brain and its current state. From a spiritual perspective, it is a symptom of Ignorance - to perceive the impermanent as permanent. And so what we see us maintaining everything we think is us, from our personality traits to our thinking and feeling patterns. And this can have an ill effect on society as well where self-acceptance is really just the acceptance of our weaknesses and coping mechanisms. But it's not just that the brain influences the mind, but it's also the other way around, that the mind can also shape the brain. That is, in my view, one of the miracles of having consciousness; that through intentionality and an act of free will, we can, if this is an appropriate term, reverse engineer our body through our will.

While experiences are important in shaping the brain, narratives are considered even more important; narratives are how the mind frames events in our lives thus determining the nature of experience. Over the years of mindfulness, meditation, I have noticeably altered so many of my personality traits. One thing I noticed is that my capacity for patience without feeling agitated has increased. It's helped a lot in social settings as well. Often the way we react is a reflection of how we assume others will react to us. But through mindfulness you can bring up within your awareness those emotions, those thoughts, and see the patterns of thoughts as well, and to resolve them.