Knowledge, belief, and honesty.

[Whateverist]

No wonder you're so confused.

What we honestly believe is merely what we honestly believe.

To know something we must not only honestly believe it but it must also be true, it must be justifiably true and we must not merely have the knowledge by accident (the Gettier problem).

Justified true belief that one is lucidly aware of=knowledge, IMO.

If we falsely think we know something and think it's warranted, what distinguishes that from something we believe in the same strength but it is warranted? IF we honestly believe them with same strength, we are doomed practically to never truly know for we cannot distinguish between knowledge and belief.

I am saying when one is honest to oneself, one can distinguish between warranted justified belief and unjustified unwarranted belief.

I have to question that.  I think one can be earnest and dead wrong.  (Your's being a case in point.)

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Reality is what it is, the question, is how do you distinguish what really know about it and what you deceived yourself you know about it. I am saying it's honesty to oneself.

But earnestness aside, one can be perfectly honest with oneself and still come up short.  There doesn't have to be a solution to the dilemma, and there isn't.  Knowledge is a concept for which our wiring is ill equipped to determine.  Just got to soldier on and give up grand proofs based on eliminating alternatives.  It won't work.