From Spark to Flame: How Kira Day is Redefining Passion and Purpose in Work and Life
Kira Day, the dynamic Founder and CEO of The Passion Centre, has turned her personal journey of self-discovery into a groundbreaking movement to redefine how we think about passion. Through her research, programs, and tools like The Passion Health™ Test, she’s helped countless professionals reclaim their lives, align with their true selves, and unlock the potential of passion as a force for personal and professional success.In this interview, Kira shares the turning points in her journey, the myths she’s debunked, and the tools she’s developed to activate passion and transform lives. Whether you’re feeling stuck or simply curious about what drives your inner spark, Kira’s story is bound to inspire.Let’s dive in.
What made you realize that your professional path, despite its success, wasn’t fulfilling or sparking passion?
The realization first came when I noticed that my natural disposition of positivity started to decline. I began to increasingly neglect the simple things that had once brought me great joy. And in that, there was a general sense of numbness that started to cling to me. A feeling I could not shake over the weekend, or even on the ‘breaks’ that I would take. While the work itself was always stimulating, it was no longer activating. For me, this distinction was the great a-ha moment in my life. As it was that moment, I realized that my constant feeling was one of de-activation. That’s when I knew something had to be done. But the more I procrastinated on that realization, the more I could feel myself pulling further and further away from who I knew myself to be. As a matter of fact, at the time, if you were to ask me who I was - I would probably have answered you with my title. And the truth is – how could I not? I was working close to 80 hours per week and the responsibilities of meeting work demands was a depressing affair. The challenge was that I was very driven, and also very stubborn in my drive. I came from humble beginnings, so I grew to overvalue success defined by financial achievements. My ambitions overshadowed my Passions, and to be frank – I may have confused the two on my journey. Investing deeper and deeper down a path that was not in alignment to who I was at my core became my ruin. And yet, as I sank into my reality more and more, there were sparks of acknowledgement that this was not the life I wanted to be living. I just did not know at the time what I wanted, and if I did, how to even approach getting there. So I stayed put and hunkered down. That was until my body said no. And when it did, I was forced to listen. That set me on a journey of studying Passion and what I needed to do to win my life back.
You’ve mentioned that passion isn’t “found” but “activated.” What have you discovered about how this activation process works?
Such a great question! And one I’ll have to build some context around to do the answer any amount of justice. To start, society seems to have many quick fixes to personal and professional challenges. One well known piece of advice for example, is to get out there and ‘find’ your Passion. But when we listen to the language it’s akin to saying: go find some happiness, or, find anger, or find ambition. All things we do not actually find. The language doesn’t match the process. And when that happens, we can become more confused on our paths because we are making assumptions about a process that is not accurate. The second challenge is that we have used Passion in our culture as a mechanism to ‘work more efficiently’ or to be in ‘service’ through a profession. This is why we abbreviate things like, I’m Passionate about Engineering, or Basketball, or Writing, etc. These are overly simplistic statements said through a capitalistic framework that does not coincide with our biology. Passion came before Capitalism. And so when I set out to create more tangible means to access this state I asked one critical question – instead of ‘how do we find Passion’, I asked, what drives a person’s Passion, individually or collectively?
This question changed our lens and in our study of more than 2000 participants over a three year time period we found answers. The standard deviation score obtained from the results of the study was .02%. Meaning we achieved a 99.8% accuracy in understanding what drives Passion – or rather, what activates it. What we learned was that Passion is not a one to one, experience (Passionate about Engineering). Instead, it’s a one to many (what about Engineering inspires the Passion within an individual). And what is required both internally and externally to keep that Passion sustained. In its most simplistic formula we found that, Passion = meaning x investment. When we connect to subjects or experiences that are meaningful to us, we activate Passion. The intensity we feel can be automatic, or it can be iterative. It’s the difference between love at first sight, versus love that starts to accrue based on the time we spend and the value we start associating with the experience of another. Passion works in a similar fashion. It is the bond or connection we have to an activity because of what that activity inspires within us. We found that Passion houses 15 drivers and influencers that can be boiled down into 4 buckets: Psychological, Social, Environmental and Internal. Each bucket has a list of needs that people across the board require in order to experience what we call Passion. When those needs are met, we function at our best personally and professionally, which is what we termed Passion Health. When items are missing our Passion Health decreases. How this impacts our personal and professional lives was seen through the study as well. In the study it showed that people with decreased Passion Health experienced higher absenteeism, reduced performance and were more likely to engage in negative social behaviours. People with higher Passion Health experienced the opposite. Although we like to put our personal and professional lives into separate camps, they bleed into each other. So Passion activation supports both camps when we are free to build environments (internally and externally) that support our abilities to meet these Passion Health needs.
What challenges did you face when building The Passion Centre?
One of the biggest challenges from day one was how to re-educate the market. Passion is a really challenging, personal and confronting concept for most people. While it seems that culturally we are in support of Passion, the truth is, our systems were not built for it. This puts us at an impasse. Every institution we have built from the dawn of the Industrial Era was to support the growth and stability of our Economic engine. Even our Education system, although touts Passion in so many of its marketing campaigns, is structurally designed to be a pipeline for current industry. Grades are used to test talent and suitability, and by and large overrides all else. This isn’t a bad thing necessarily as we need talent and suitability. However, if that is not balanced with a persons ability to find meaning inside of what they do – sustainability becomes a factor to consider. So when we trump Passion, in favour for good work eventually good work dwindles. And this is a problem. Much of being able to overcome this challenge has simply been to show up and educate on the data. And while it has taken some time, I am gaining more and more traction every year. Luckily, many Professionals that do great work but are dissatisfied are now finding me and my company and we are supporting their ability to do great work in areas that can bring them more inner peace, joy and Passion.
What does it mean for passion to be “healthy” or “unhealthy”?
This understanding came from much of the research in academic arenas. I first came across Dr. Robert Vallerand, a social psychologist out of Montreal Canada and his work on Harmonious and Obsessive Passion back in 2016. It was his work which was instrumental in giving me a lens through which I could understand Passion better. Vallerand socialized the concept of the duality of Passion, which I now understand to be a triality. In any regard, the duality model states that Passion can exist in a Harmonious versus Obsessive state. In his studies it was shown that only when Passion exists Harmoniously, do we achieve sustainable Psychological well-being. He describes Harmonious Passion as a Passion that we do regularly, but it does not overly consume our lives. In other words, we still maintain self-agency in our relationship with Passion. Obsessive is the opposite. We lose self-agency. It is the type of Passion where, because of that, we can jeopardize all other parts of our personal or professional experience. The danger there, his study showed, was that we lose facets of an otherwise healthy human experience. Additionally, the added pressure we put on ourselves when we relate to Passion in this way means that we will also be less resilient to failure as we experience a higher intensity of negative emotions when our outcomes do not reflect the opportunities that we attach to our Passions. When I set out to put together our Passion Health™ Study I did it with the intention of building an evidence-based Assessment that supports an individual’s ability to assess how healthy their Passion levels were. This helps my clients to gain a baseline. From there, I have personally built 2 programs specifically geared at supporting them to understand the parameters of what drives their Passion and assess the probability of obsessive versus harmonious Passion. It is one part of a larger process that evaluates performance fit, and mobilizes the transition into careers, and/or new ventures that supports a person’s ability to access higher levels of Passion and thrive states, while considering their risk tolerance levels and monetary obligations.
Can you share an inspiring story of someone who transformed their life using your programs?
I can’t pick just one! And I feel like doing so is like picking favourites, which I simply can’t do. What I can say is that there have been so many brave and courageous souls that have come into our ecosystem over the years. I have had individuals who have, once completed the programs, quit their 9-5’s to start their own Passion ventures – right up to folks who have used these programs to make some of the most challenging decisions a person can make. Some serious issues: from deciding on how to move forward on a health walk, to deciding on leaving a spouse in a dysfunctional union, right up to moving continents. Personal and Professional transitions are complex, scary, filled with uncertainty and usually involve taking some great leaps of faith. So to carry us towards those dreams we have for ourselves, Passion is essential and so too is learning how to listen to the wisdom of one’s own heart. These programs are not for the faint of heart, but for the most solid of them. If readers would like to peruse through some of the amazing personal or professional transformations that have taken place using our programs, feel free to check out https://thepassioncentre.com/clients where my clients have documented their own journeys to share with the world.
What are some common myths about passion that you’ve encountered?
I think I addressed a few myths in the first question ☺, but I’m so glad this question is asked directly because there is one other myth that propagate in our culture concerning Passion that I would love to address. I hear quite often the advice that People should not follow their Passion. Instead, they should follow something else, and usually the something else depends on the Author. This advice isn’t said to be bad advice, but it is built on a massive assumption - and that’s where the logic breaks down and can possibly lead many in a bad direction. To use an example, let’s use the counterbalance – “don’t follow your Passion, instead focus on what you are good at”... The assumption inherent to this logic is that Passion will naturally follow. Or, that you will be so good at what you do, you will be successful - and that will serve you more than Passion. This is where it get flawed. As I know many successful professionals that are great at their work, and are emotionally starving. This affair takes a huge toll on a person over time and after working with many folks in this position, it is evident that success alone does not equal happiness or passion. So then is the advice to follow Passion, if it’s not to not follow Passion? No. The advice is not to say to follow your passion at the cost of what you could be good at. The advice is to say, ask better questions. What drives your Passion? Find out your ingredients that create meaning for you, blended in with the other components that supports your ability to contribute in a meaningful way where other people will want, need and buy from you. A great model to use to break this down for anyone looking for direction is the Japanese Ikigai model. A model that has been popularized only relatively recently in the west. First identify what is meaningful to you – or what you love then combine that with what you are good at. Once you are clear on those two aspects, look into what the world, market or industry needs, and then assess what you can get paid for. By doing the work to dig into how these aspects intersect with each other, ensures that what you pick does not ignore what you love, and gives you ample opportunity to innovate and create something of real and tangible value in the world.
What’s next for The Passion Centre?
I recently launched my 8th program, YOU DeCoded. A full 360 degree interview with yourself. It looks at all the challenging parts, as well as the one’s that bring us great joy. It is an invitation and a commitment to go beyond the surface of who we are and to both learn and launch our deepest hearts desires. But to do that takes a mindset and heart-set shift that cannot be done without first going on a self journey. This is one of my most exciting programs to date because it takes the learnings of the past 7 years to build out one intense and incredible offering that meets clients where they are, and shows them how to look within to see where they are going. It embodies the phrase I use religiously in everything I do while giving folks a new flashlight and mirror that will encourage more and mroe people to, Passion forward.
What’s the core message you want to share with people about passion?
The main message that this company was built on was the acknowledgement that everyone has a dream in their heart that the world needs. Often, we walk around dismissing that we have anything of value, when the truth is – we are the value – walking around. Passion has a place in our social and economic systems and is a direct asset that influences both positively. If we could understand that, then and only then, can we bridge the heavy gap many feel in their work, with their families and within themselves. It’s high time that we allowed the heart to be brought back into the equation. Passion has wisdom, learning to understand that wisdom is the journey back home to ourselves.
Passion forward.