In January of this year (2025), the 22-year-old content creator, full-time student and employed Aakifah Slarmie began her morning on the morner tear by enthusiastic about storming into the icy Atlantic. By February, her ritual had recorded a cult support on Tiktok, with others inspired online to start wellness before work. Comments on just one video range from “Day 6, if you have watched this girl on Tikkok. It heals my depression a little. This laugh is contagious” to “Girl, you inspired me to swim a morning in Kalk Bay today!” In the following, Aakifah talks about her well-being before the working trip and why it means so much more than an early wake up.
“I was stuck in a cycle of work, at home and sleep.”
Because of the traffic, I usually get to work about two hours earlier. This additional time became something that I feared because I would only sit there and waited for the time to actually start working – and then I would wait again for the working day to end. I stuck in this cycle of waking up, went to work, came home and slept – and that was everything I had been doing for months. It didn’t feel like I was living; It felt like I was just surviving. It was this loop to go through the movements without really feeling present in part of my day.
“I wanted to feel alive again – and not just exist”
Finally I reached a point where I realized that I couldn’t wish for the days. I wanted to feel alive again and do not only exist from one day to the next. One morning I thought: “Why not do something about this time?” Instead of waiting, I could actually start living. This one small decision has changed everything.
I started to make cold falls, swim and run. Things I used to love when I was younger. At first it was just a way to fill the time, but then I realized how much brighter I felt after I moved my body or started my morning in the sea. It was something to be in nature, especially the water that gave me clarity and a deep feeling of peace that I hadn’t felt in a long time. It was like connecting to myself again.
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“It became clear to me how much easier I felt after I moved my body or started my morning in the sea.”
Aakifah Slarmie
“I found that this purpose is in the small things that we do for ourselves.”
Of course there are days when I don’t feel like doing something intense. On these days I go to a quiet room and put on a yoga tutorial or I will show. Journaling was so powerful; Here I process everything, check myself and slow down. I would recommend it to everyone, especially people who have no access to the beach or not to run or are cold water. Even just walking, hearing the world around her and gently moving your body can be enough. The most important thing is to create space to feel grounded.
What I have recognized is that this purpose is not something big or far away – it is in the small things we do for ourselves. I found a purpose when I stopped wishing to want my days away and began to enjoy it. I stopped waiting for weekends or big moments to feel good and began to create happy moments in the middle of ordinary days. That was the real shift for me. To realize that joy is something that we can create and what we don’t have to hunt.
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When I started sharing my journey on social media, I did not consider it to be able to follow as a series or even something it is worth. I just wanted to feel good again and be intended how I spent my time. But then people started to react and send me, commented and said how inspired she felt or how they tried something similar and it helped. Then I realized that this was bigger than me. These habits: cold immersion, journaling and moving my body have also helped other people.
“Wellness before work, lessons taught me lessons that I could not have learned by only reading about them.”
People often say how good these practices are for them, but what really clicked for me was for myself. The things from them consequently taught me lessons that I could not have learned by only reading about them. I built discipline, yes. But I have built more than that than that. I did the things I said to myself. That created a kind of internal self -confidence that I hadn’t felt for a long time.
This trip also helped me to loosen from the pressure of productivity and perfection. It freed me from a world that constantly demands that we do more, are more and achieve more. When deciding to slow down and be present, I found a way to enjoy the process instead of constantly tracking the results. I feel mentally and physically stronger, but also more in peace. The little things don’t shake me that much anymore.
I really started enjoying every day, even those who are chaotic or stressful. I notice the little moments more. I have become more present in my own life. It helped me at work, in my relationships and above all with myself. My body has the feeling that it now has a different kind of energy; One that is calmer, grounded and filled with positive vibrations.
This was not about creating a “perfect” routine or becoming another person. It was about returning to myself. I think we all sometimes need that: not to escape our lives, but to connect with them again.
Follow Aakifa’s trip on Tikkok here.
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