Is it possible to accurately describe your capabilities?

I wonder how people get away with saying things like, “I’m really smart.” Or “I’m the best [######] you can find.” Even, “I’m extremely attractive.” I guess it’s weird if people ask “how smart are you?” Or who’s the best [#######]?” “How good looking are you?”

I couldn’t begin to answer such questions. How the hell do I know? Isn’t that for other people to decide?

Then I see these people claim to be smart who I wouldn’t trust to balance a check book. I don’t want to be someone like that. I hate it when people over-promise to me, so I assume others would hate it if I over-promised them. I consider over-promising to be a kind of lying, although I assume everyone does it. Whatever someone promises me, I double the amount of time they will take to complete whatever it is.

I value honesty, so when people make claims in areas they can not possibly know, it really bothers me. It makes me feel even worse when other people seem to believe these claims.

It also seems to me that you have to have a lot of chutzpah to say good things about yourself. I believe that most people wildly exaggerate their abilities. So I prefer to say nothing and let others judge for themselves. Then I lose to people who make wild and unsupported claims that are believed by people evaluating us.

Can you accurately know how you compare to others? Does anyone really care if you exaggerate (or outright lie) about your skills? Does anyone really value honesty? Should we all go out and sell ourselves? Is anyone else bothered by exaggeration and unsupportable claims? Does anyone else not trust people who are their own biggest boosters?