The fruit on the highest branch makes reaching look more reasonable than it is.

Desirability distorts your estimate of risk. Something scarce and visible pulls attention upward, and the mind starts working on how to reach it rather than on whether it is worth the fall. The height stays exactly the same. Your assessment quietly moves. Wanting is not a neutral observer of the situation.

When something is pulling hard at you, say the cost of failing out loud before you decide. Ask whether you would advise a friend to climb, since a ladder is much easier to judge when the fruit is not yours.