It's like up-badging a car. Most people won't care about it. Those who are knowledgeable about it will see through it. And those who actually do care about superficial things like that are probably not the kind of people whose respect should matter to you

It is narcissistic at its core. If you had a healthy sense of self, you wouldn’t need to constantly be monitoring how others perceive you, and trying to manage that.

Yes, that is absolutely the case, and while Narcissism appears strong and confident from the outside, it's really driven by massive amounts of anxiety and terror over not appearing good enough. Narcissism is really an awful disability caused by trauma that leads to a lot of suffering, not something impressive and powerful.

This is why I suggested stoicism (and modern therapy methods based on it like ACT and CBT) as a practical alternative that fulfills the same emotional need in a mentally healthier, and more responsible way.

It essentially flips this around entirely, and says the only thing that really matters is how you perceive yourself, e.g. knowing you are acting according to your own goals and values. You can only control how you act and perceive things, not what others think about you, and there is no value or point in worrying about things outside your control.

Instead of trying to "look strong" you can actually just be strong- and stand by your convictions and values.