Being a huge narcissist, I have this discussion fairly often in real life. I've thought a lot about it, and here's what I've come up with.
As I see it, cockiness is an inflated perception of ones' own self-worth that lacks any logical or quantifiable explanation. In other words, cocky people think they're great but a cursory examination of their life reveals no reason for them to think that way--and more importantly offers us no reason to believe them about their greatness.
Confidence, on the other hand, is a high perception of ones' self-worth based on actually being great. I consider myself confident, not cocky, because I'm smart, capable, I treat women like princesses and I have an ass that just won't quit, just to name a few qualities on the laundry-list of personality traits that make me fantastic
I am confident in my skills with women because I've put them to use enough times with enough success to have faith in them. If I were to try to fly a plane later today, I would probably resort to cockiness because I would be participating in an activity about which I know next to nothing.
Then again, I've always said, "If it has wheels, I can drive it." So maybe that's confidence too. Or maybe I am just an arrogant bastard
Your boy,
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