He told the Sunday Independent
"For me to go and play football as well as I can, I need to enjoy it. When I started playing football as a kid I didn't play it thinking there's three points at stake here or we'll be relegated."
The Dubliner has made a serious impact since arriving in the January transfer window which has seen Sunderland move up the table and are currently 5 points from the final relegation place up for grabs.
Reid is in no doubt his passing style is different to what Sunderland had and said
"It takes a different kind of bravery to get on the ball and pass it. The way I see it is if I'm not getting hold of the ball and I'm not picking passes and looking to play forward then I'm not really doing my job."