5 Questions with Jason Reed

Logan Sinclair are proud to be working with Mindful Chef on our 5 Questions series.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Logan Sinclair wanted to offer some assistance to healthy eating and wellbeing to help everyone through this difficult time. By working with our friends at Mindful Chef, who offer fresh, delicious, nutritionist-designed recipes delivered safely to your doorstep, Logan Sinclair can offer the code LSS10 which will give £10 off your first 2 boxes. Please use the link www.mindfulchef.com/LSS10 to apply the discount automatically.

Jason Reed is the curator and presenter of both the Stop & Search podcast and the So I Start A Revolution From My Bed podcast. Jason is also a features writer for the podcast publication www.podbiblemag.com .

Over the stay at home period, what ideas or reflection have emerged that have surprised you? 

I’ve perhaps had a slightly different experience to many with the lockdown period. Due to my health, I’ve had a long legacy of being isolated. Having had an illness since childhood that’s meant that I’m often on my own and housebound, I quickly found myself noticing how a lot of other people began to struggle with quarantine. I humbly did what I could to help and reassure that things can be ok, situations are transient, and that we all should play each day as it comes. So the reflections that I’ve had are based around just how vulnerable we all can be if there’s a few tweaks to our circumstances, it just goes to show how important mental health is, and that we’re all just a few steps away from needing some help - and that’s ok!

What is the most powerful effect you can have on another person?

I truly believe that the power to inspire someone is priceless, and sometimes we don’t even realise that we can have that effect. We can possibly all draw upon examples of the big things in life, the large points of inspiration, like a musician, a key worker who’s done so much to keep society moving and safe, an astronaut walking on the moon, or a film star saving the universe, an author who speaks directly to our heart… but there are times that a simple conversation can have the biggest impact - to be heard and listened to - or to lend a shoulder of empathy and understanding; not all heroes wear capes, some wear cardigans. 

Do you have a mantra, ritual or daily practice?

Well, as mentioned I have to be conscious of health, so I’m a militant proponent of rest! And I’m not talking about sitting on the sofa and flicking through your phone. I have to partake in some serious rest before starting the day, then sprint to make the most of the energy that I have, furiously and earnestly, maybe wearing a 80’s headband, and then I work towards Olympic-sized rest in the evening. And when you do rest, make sure you set the scene, get your lighting right, indulge in the senses, get some nice scents, pick something you really want to watch, read, or listen to. I can’t emphasise enough how much we all need to really learn to wind ourselves down better.    

How do you keep your mental health in check?

I have a small story that I often remind myself of. There’s a wonderful picture of what is considered one of the greatest Olympians of all time, the swimmer, Michael Phelps. In this photo he’s seen at the finish line alongside one of his rivals, Chad Le Clos. Michael has his eyes firmly focused on the finish line and a nose in front of his opponent, whereas Chad is seen struggling with a snached glance to his side to check on Michael’s position. I don’t want to know if the story holds up, I’m happy to keep this story as a perfect narrative, so the moral of the story? Keep focused on your own lane. It’s so easy to look over your shoulder at life, especially when you do have struggles with physical or mental illness, it can feel like the world is racing past you, but it’s crucial to keep your own focus and to know that, one way or another, you’ve ‘got this’. No one can do what you do or do it the way you’d do it, so hold fast and have some confidence that you will get there, and in your own good time. Ultimately, we’re competing against no one other than ourselves. 

What are you grateful for in light of the global crisis?

I truly believe that we may start to address disability employment options. When the pandemic hit, we quickly saw how the world didn’t quite know how to cope with workforces having to stay at home. But after a few weeks, remote working came through and became standardised, also some differences in working practices and we began to adapt. This has been needed for decades as there’s a whole section of society who don’t fit the 9-5 boxes, there are those who need some other considerations to be made, and some simple adaptations to working life. There’s now no excuse to not have these conversations and to begin to cater for people with health problems and disabilities, so the global crisis has really signposted the need to adapt.