On the cost of the extra inch
“He who stands on tiptoe does not stand firm.”
The image is exact about effort. Standing on tiptoe does gain you height, and it is the very thing that makes you unsteady; the gain and the instability are one movement, not a trade to be managed.
Most self-presentation works this way. The reach for a little more than you are costs the footing you actually had, and the strain is visible to everyone but the person holding it.