Being yourself

Have it ever occur to you than sometimes consciously or subconsciously we tend behave or react in ways that are not typical of our real self, be it to strangers or to those we know. For instance, there are times where we become more accommodating when meeting with friends, more polite or perhaps the reverse whereby we react more cautiously and even kind of hostile to those we feel may take advantage of us. There are those who try to act more confidently when dating girls. I guess there is nothing wrong or abnormal in trying to project a more confident image when we deal with others, in particular if we need to interact with customers in our daily working life. On the other hand there are those who believe that we should just be ourselves and not put on a mask or apply double standard so to speak when dealing with people. There is this saying that when you go to Rome, behave like the Romans do which exactly implies adapting ourselves to the environment.
Of course we do know and come across people who are so good in adapting, so much so that they called hypocrites!
On the other hand I feel that sticking to our principle may not be the best thing to do at times more so especially if we know that the opposite party will not give in easily or will be offended by our being ourselves actions. The Chinese or Japanese are not well known for expressing and communicating their thoughts openly. So just being yourself
regardless of circumstances or situations a good or bad thing? You be the judge!