I think that's trying to assign more meaning than what the phrase was originally intended to hold. It's an issue of human language being ambiguous. In your use

I think that's trying to assign more meaning than what the phrase was originally intended to hold. It's an issue of human language being ambiguous. In your use, "true self" becomes a meaningless concept because there can never be a "fake self". In the context of phrases like "stay true to yourself", I think it merely means to not act as a version of yourself that is inconsistent with your own values/beliefs/wants. In other words, to not act like a "fake" version of you.