Mac, I’m going to get take a step back and get philosophical for a moment, but we both enjoy this type of exchange:
There is no objective “good” or “bad,” only perceptions.
When it rains, the farmer is elated with joy as his crops will blossom.
The bridge and groom are dismayed as it is their outdoor wedding day.
To the farmer, the act of “rain” is good.
To the bride and groom, the act of “rain” is bad.
The act itself cannot be measurably good or bad, as it affects all parties involved differently. We cannot measure the act itself on the spectrum of good or bad, but only to understand how such as act affects us each differently on the individual level.
For you, his act of increasing his height is bad, as more women will think men are liars. But for him, It’s good because he gets more results than he could not formerly get.
Mac, you seem to be a moral man and I’m not averse to morality. The act of morality, itself, is both good and bad. It’s good as it serves as a guide In how to conduct oneself in relation to everyone else so that both, you and they, generally benefit--but, concomitantly, bad, because it serves as a prison of behavior leaving free thought and will null.
Do you believe in Nature? The way trees produce oxygen for us to breathe while we take in this oxygen to produce carbon dioxide back for the trees’ survival. A perfect system of great (perhaps infinite) intelligence, is it not? If Nature created this Earth and breathed life into you, would we not consider Nature to be of good origin? And If Nature were good, then how could It concomitantly permit bad to manifest or even flourish? The only logical answer to this question is “bad” cannot exist without an equal or better "good."
I remember discussions with you through PM where I stated “No bad can befall upon you.” What I meant was with every extreme adversity came an extreme lesson, which can benefit the individual greater than the adversity itself.
So now … OP comes here to state that his act is increasing his OLD height by two inches. Such as act may produce both an advantage to him and a disadvantage to you. Such act also will provide an advantage to some in society and an equal disadvantage to others in society. The act itself cannot be measurably defined as good or bad; it just is.
As to admissions of inadequacies: Some inadequacies can be corrected, others cannot. Far better to be in truth of your inadequacy to address it rather than to ignore it exists.
And as to the "win at all costs" statement, there is always a cost in any decision. It's ultimately up to the individual to decide whether the benefits outweigh the costs for an effective solution.