The Cost of Being the Strong One

Author

Sallyann Della Casa
October 23, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes

In partnership with

Dear Lovely Human,

We celebrate strength as if it’s an endless resource. It’s not. The mightiest bridges need maintenance.

If you are like me, my entire life I have been that person everyone leans on, the one who shows up, fixes it, holds it together, over time, that constancy becomes a weight.

How I have managed for the last decade to thrive has been through the self awareness that being the strong one does not mean I have to deny myself permission to falter, to be held, and to be cared for.

It’s really about knowing when to let yourself soften and with whom or in what environment.

This week, I want to invite you to see rest, boundaries or even maybe a slower pace not as weakness but as a sacred act of self‑respect. Let this be the nudge to lay down the armor for a while and trust that the world won’t collapse without you propping it up.

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📌The Week, in Smart:

​​ What is the latest news in AI & Emerging Tech?

• ChatGPT Atlas replaces every RAG you know
Everyone’s building “RAG” chatbots — OpenAI just made them obsolete overnight.

• AWS outage shows what happens when the cloud sneezes
When Amazon’s servers go dark, the whole digital economy catches a cold. I was so mad… I was working on Gamma and panicked.

• Super-cool crypto debit card, no bank required
Web3 just gave your wallet a second life — this is what post-banking looks like.

• AI Gold Rush: Don’t get left behind
One of the best takes on building with AI — if you create content, this is a must-watch before it’s too late.

• Create videos by simply chatting to AI
If PowerPoint is dead, this is the resurrection — AI that edits and narrates your story.

How can I stay ahead in Learning and Development?

•  School replaces detention with hiking
What if discipline looked more like discovery? Maine teachers are proving it can.

•  Paul Wallis and Ipek from our community on the quiet power of leadership
True loyalty is staying when you could leave — a leadership lesson worth revisiting.

• What if you grew lucky by design? An excellent read.

• UAE Labour Law — garden leave decoded
If you’ve ever been “benched” by your company, this one tells you what your rights really are.

 How do I broaden my Global Worldview? This month we explore India (Part 3)

Leena stood beneath a canopy of twinkling lights as the first notes of the Lakshmi Aarti filled the air. It wasn’t just background music – Diwali songs “play a pivotal role in setting the mood and enhancing the spiritual experience”

At the heart of these melodies are Aarti and bhajans—devotional songs celebrating the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil. Leena listened as elders sang of Rama’s return and Lakshmi’s blessings, stories that unite millions around a shared history. Nearby, children clapped to the beat, adding their own voices to the chorus. These hymns aren’t just relics; they’re invitations to community.

A pause, a light, a sound — the reminder that rituals recharge more than devices.

During Diwali, these deep classical roots meet folk traditions and Bollywood hits. The shimmering notes of a sitar mingle with the high‑energy beats of film songs; a brass band might segue into a centuries‑old bhajan. This fusion reflects India itself—both ancient and modern, reverent and joyful.

Leena’s evening ended with a circle of women singing the Lakshmi Aarti one last time. As they sang, she remembered the respect and mindfulness we discussed in Part 3. Music, she realized, is how India turns respect and presence into celebration. It is the soundtrack to the care people show one another—whether by touching elders’ feet or by staying silent on a riverbank. In that moment, every person in the courtyard bowed not down, but toward each other.

Strength without softness becomes a cage.

Even pillars need moments to lean.

Resilience is not the absence of breaks but the art of bending.

And finally…..

🎯 What can I do to Impact, Live Sustainably and Make the World a Better Place?

•  Bhutan PM on climate action — “We must not be sleepwalkers of our time”
A rare voice of honesty at the UN. Bhutan reminds the world what leadership sounds like.

• Tigers, tourism, and the line between awe and abuse
A reflection on how humans turn wonder into danger — and what respect for nature really means.

Your fans,
— Sal & the Gleac team

P.S. Meet some of the lovely humans in our Gleac community making waves around the world!