One thing that drives me crazy is when I hear people call other people "cocky" or "conceited".
I myself even hear that I am viewed as "cocky" on a daily basis, and although I don't let it get to me, the thing that bothers me about it is that I think people really don't understand that there is a difference between being confident and being arrogant.
The way I see it is being arrogant is talking about yourself non-stop, parading yourself around like you are greater than everyone else around you, and boasting yourself up to think you are the greatest person to ever exist, when in all reality you have nothing that actually makes you stand out.
See when you're arrogant, you're not special, you're someone no one wants to surround themselves with. Arrogance reflects who you are, and when you are cocky it usually implies that you are ok with who you are at this moment. It usually entails that you never plan to change, and never plan to improve.
Now what you should really focus on being is confident.
When you are confident you don't let anything around you affect how you conduct yourself, or what you think of yourself.
You should always have the mentality that when you walk into a room, no matter who may be in it, that no one in that room is above you.
Don't misconstrue this with arrogance though, because although you know no one is above you, you also understand that you aren't as great as you can be yet, and you can always improve.
In the end you should love yourself, and you should be your biggest hype man.
Never let other people make you believe that there is anything wrong with knowing how great you are...what they think doesn't matter.
What does matter is that you are confident, and know to value yourself, love yourself, and believe in yourself.
So the next time someone calls you "cocky", just keep walking by them with your head held high, and just remind yourself how great you are.
Believe me when I say that the only person you need to remind is you, there is no need to remind other people around you.