Am I being a "Lazy" Natural?

So you did it!
You big-chopped!
You transitioned!
You are finally all-natural!

So why are you bored already? Why don't you feel more psyched!

I found that I was dreaming about my natural coils and kinks for almost 3 years (during my LONG transition) and  yet just ran back to protective styling right after my transition chop!

See if any of the below feel like you:

1. Styling rut: you dreamed of twist-outs and braid-outs. You loved curly-fros and stretched styles. And now you are natural, you jump back to Havana twists and Braids with extensions? Don't get me wrong, those look cute. However, you transitioned or chopped with hopes of wearing your hair out. Now you are hiding it.
   
2. Fear of split-ends: I would bun up my hair and go through my regular routine without much enthusiasm. I found I hated dusting my ends but also feared split ends ruining my good work. However, I also fell off my Deep-conditioning game which could have helped me feel less insecure about my ends.
   
3. Failed styling attempts: I made myself wear my hair out more in the Spring and Summer of 2013: I tried twist-outs and flat twist-outs. I did this EVERY weekend and I only liked the results of a couple of them (see video below). This kind of annoyed me! After actively trying to work towards my goals of big bad natural hair, I was met with (usually) failure).
   

The above three can make a lot of people fall at these stumbling blocks.
Here are some other home truths to help re-inspire your journey,

You may still be in big-chop or transition-chop shock!
I think I was still in shock that my transition was finally done. I also realised that a chop back from hip-length was actually quite a big length change to bra-strap length. I was anxious for my hair to grow back and that was feeding my fears of wearing my hair out.

Find new hair inspiration:
I have found at least 3 new YouTube channels to inspire me (a 4th one in German, lol - a girl can brush up her skills, right?) I found NaturallyHigh, Bootyfurl and Cassandre Beccai in the last few days (re-discovered the latter) and I've been given more ideas. It is great to know that I can stretch my hair without heat in Curlformers (it seems that I needed more than Naptural85 to give me courage).

Trim your ends for a fresh start:
I will be trimming my ends in February by God's grace. Nothing drastic, just an inch to clear my split ends and have that smoother ends feel. I still don't want a hair cut yet but I would like a new feel to my hair.

Take your time to understand your hair:
My hair as a natural is not in any way the same as my relaxed or texlaxed hair! They both grew out of my head but one is A LOT thicker and stubborn (guess, which one?) and needs a bit more TLC to keep looking good. My relaxed hair was just happy to have a co-wash! Now, I need to be careful to avoid sulphates and keep deep conditioning bi-weekly! I think a good deep condition with tried and tested loves like avocado and coconut milk treats is in order!

How do you feel about your natural hair?

I will put this out there on other platforms to see if I can garner more answers. I will also be doing more Featured Natural posts on here this year by God's grace! More reviews in line with my plans to stretch my hair and try out more homemade conditioners will also feature here.

See you on YouTube!