In The ZOUD
In The ZOUD is where we stop avoiding the hard conversations about Equity, Diversity and Inclusion - and start saying the things people usually whisper, avoid, or soften.
Hosted by Sylvia Stevenson, this podcast takes you into the Zone of Uncomfortable Debate - the place where real learning happens, assumptions get exposed, and leadership is tested. No sugar-coating. No corporate gloss. Just direct, meaningful conversations with people who are willing to name the truth about culture, power, race, identity and inequality.
If you’re tired of performative statements, tick-box strategies and safe conversations that change nothing, this is your space. Here, we ask the questions that make people shift in their seats — because that’s where change begins.
Welcome to In The ZOUD — if it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change anything.
In The ZOUD
7 Things My Mother Gave Me: Day 3 - Discernment
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In Day 3 of the 7 Things My Mother Gave Me series for International Women’s Day, I reflect on another Jamaican proverb my mother often used while I was growing up: “Wha sweet nanny goat ah go run im belly.” What tastes sweet to the goat today will upset its stomach tomorrow.
For a long time, I didn’t fully understand what she meant. But over time, I began to see the wisdom behind it. This proverb reminds us that what feels like the best choice in the moment is not always the one that leads to the best outcome later. Some decisions that seem appealing today can carry consequences we only recognize with time.
In this reflection, I explore how discernment helps us look beyond immediate comfort and consider the longer-term impact of our choices.
Because sometimes the most important question is not what feels good now, but what will truly serve us - and others -later.
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Until next time, keep leaning into the conversations that matter.
Welcome to day three of this seven-day series, Seven Things My Mother Gave Me. In honor of International Women's Day, I'm sharing some of the wisdom my mother gave me while I was growing up through the Jamaican proverbs she often used. Today's reflection is about discernment. You know, my mother would often say something that for a long time I didn't fully understand. And it was, Wasui nanigurt agoronimbeli. In other words, what tastes sweet to the goat today will upset its stomach tomorrow. Now when I first heard it, it sounded so strange, even a little amusing. It took time, and dare I say, a few more life experiences, before I began to understand what she meant. She was reminding me that what feels like the best decision in the moment is not always the one that leads to the best outcome later. Sometimes the sweet choice is the easy one, as in putting ourselves first, holding tightly to what we have, choosing convenience over responsibility, or avoiding the effort it takes to do what is right. But here's a truth that's worth reflecting on. The things that feel most satisfying in the moment can slowly shape the kind of person we become and the kind of world we help create around us. Disernment asks a harder question, not simply what benefits me now, but what kind of future am I building through this choice? That reflection sits at the heart of this year's International Women's Day theme, give to gain. Because sometimes what looks like gain in the moment is simply comfort, self-interest, or short-term advantage. And sometimes the choice that costs us something today is the one that creates something far more meaningful tomorrow. So, why not try pausing before making a choice and ask yourself what it might lead to later? Because as my late mother would say, Wasweet nanigurt are go running belly. Come on, let's give to gain.