In reality a balance has to be struck between be yourself and be someone people want to engage with.

I agree, when people say "be yourself" I think what they mean is to be honest about what you think and how feel about tings in social situations, not unapologetically talk about Star Wars 24/7. 🤭

I agree with the heart of your statement, but I think it is misleading. Surely for most people there is at least SOME overlap between things that are authentically you and things that interest other people. They are not mutually exclusive. The goal is to find the overlap, and then emphasize that.

I sometimes think I went too far the other way. I always got on with everyone and different sets of friends who didn't really mix too well.

But also how much of "you" should you be willing to "damp down" to appeal to others who are not worth the energy to actually know or interact with?

Hmmm, true... if you want to engage with people. The older I get the less I want to engage.

But some people i dont want to engage with. 😂😂😂😂