Cringe as a self-fulfilling prophecy

How do you know if you're cringe?

You can't ask your circle of influence. They're either biased, subjective, or simply lying in attempt to shield you from an uncomfortable truth.

You can try to assess your cringiness yourself, but you could just as well be too critical a judge. No objectivity there, either.

What's more, depending on the individual, you might have a natural tendency to downplay yourself - which could, but does not necessarily, mean that whatever you think is automatically false.

Which leads to this question:

Would it be better to believe that one is not cringe - that one is, in fact, the very opposite: the coolest person ever? That if people ever look at you weirdly, it's because they're taken aback by your confidence, and not because you're cringe?

Sure, you could come off as cocky. But at least you won't be cringe.

And at least your own belief in your own cringiness won't become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

(Apparently, being cringe is the worst thing ever.)