A lot of people simply can't handle the cognitive dissonance that pangs the mind when they are lower status than they were before. Cognitive dissonance creates

A lot of people simply can't handle the cognitive dissonance that pangs the mind when they are lower status than they were before. Cognitive dissonance creates undue mental stress until resolved. If one can't resolve it by deflating their ego, then the dissonance between reality and one's self perception won't allow them to stay in a position of low status for very long. Thus they get stuck in relative peaks, unable to descend from their high position, to start fresh from a point that allows them to climb the right peak.