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 5 - Strength
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
In Day 5 of the 7 Things My Mother Gave Me series, I reflect on one of my favourite Jamaican proverbs my mother often used when I came to her with a problem.
“Wen chubble kech yuh, pikni shut fit yuh.” Literally, it means that when trouble catches you, even a child’s shirt will fit you.
Behind the humour of the saying is a powerful reminder: in difficult moments, we often discover strength we didn’t know we had.
In this reflection, I explore how challenges can reveal resilience and courage we may not have realised were within us—and how the strength we gain through our struggles can become something we share with others.
Thank you for listening to In the ZOUD Podcast with Sylvia Stevenson.
If this episode resonated with you, please follow, subscribe and share it with others who may benefit from the conversation.
You can find In the ZOUD Podcast on Buzzsprout, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.
Until next time, keep leaning into the conversations that matter.
Welcome to day 5 of this 7-day series, 7 Things My Mother Gave Me. Today's reflection is all about strength, and my mother was a very strong woman. This is actually one of my favourite sayings, and whenever I hear it, it still makes me smile. She would often say it to me when I came to her with a problem, and her words were, When trouble catch you, picnic fit you. In other words, when trouble catches you, a child's shirt will fit you. Now when I hear it, I can't help but picture a grown adult in the shock of the moment, somehow managing to squeeze into a baby's baby grow. I mean the image is just so funny. But behind the humour, there's a powerful message. What my mother was really saying is that when trouble comes, we often find strength we didn't know we had. In difficult moments when we're under pressure or facing something unexpected, we are capable of doing things we never thought possible. Sometimes it's only when we're pushed that we discover just how resilient we really are. My mother was reminding me that even when life feels overwhelming, there is often a deeper strength within us that only reveals itself under intense pressure. And when we recognize and discover that strength, it doesn't just carry us through the moment, it often becomes something we can give to others. In many ways, that reflects the theme of International Women's Day this year, Give to Gain. So, if you're facing a specific challenge right now, just remember there is strength within you, sometimes more than you realize, waiting for the moment you need it the most. And when you find that strength, it often becomes something you can give to others. Because I've realized, as my mother would often say, when trouble catches you, pick me shot, fit you. Come on, let's give to gain.