Skimming this thread, and especially reading this comment, it all seems so absurd.
Does this post really reflect how you operate on a day to day basis? By over-analyzing social interactions and figuring out their "rules."
> "I want them to like me. Should I be like this? Should I be like that?"
Have you not learned this already? Has nobody learned to deal with themselves that they seriously contemplate this article and the shallow "be yourself" advice?
The phrase, as it's most commonly used, is likely to be perfect for extroverts. I'm an extrovert, with many extrovert friends, and this is perfect advice for me and my friends. "Don't care what other people think, just do what you want to do and the rest will come." Nothing more. It was not meant to be deconstructed, as it wasn't made by an engineer.
It's not meant for introverts and the anxious. Do not apply it your lives. There are no universal truths for human happiness and behaviour.