Going Live
I recently had a comment that suggested that my recent post; Tips and tricks from a former twitch streamer, was too long. Naturally, I replied with "There is so much that can be said about maintaining a healthy #streamlife", and that's what I wanted to cover today (as briefly as possible).
For many live streamers, 'going live' may conjure up a bit of anxiety, at least I know it does for me, and my wife as well. I understand that not all live streamers may feel that anxiety before hitting the 'start streaming' button, but for those of us that do, it's a lot like getting "butterflies in your belly", and in my opinion, those are healthy butterflies!
Feeling some slight anxiety before putting yourself out there for all the world to see is actually healthy, it means that you care about putting on a good performance for your audience and that you genuinely take live streaming seriously. I know this to be true for myself, my wife, and many of my friends that stream. But on the other hand, what if the anxiety cannot be hyper-focused into a positive area? What if those butterflies begin to morph into a ball that sits in the pit of your stomache, makes you sweat, and squirm in your seat?
Believe it or not I have felt this anxiety before. In my "behind the green screen" moment, JoeOhs Exposed, I had never been so nervous in my life. I was literally going to shine a soft box light on the bones hidden in my closet, one by one. After that I could never stream the same. A couple years later, my wife (then girlfriend) would quite literally try her hardest to get me to stream on twitch, but for some reason the anxiety was just too great for me to handle and I would sit there in my chair, with everything ready to go. But I couldn't do it.
I found myself in that position more than once, just sitting there trying to fight myself into submission, to just LET GO, and eventually I did. I did a few streams in 2017 but with the birth of my daughter, moving into a new home, my girlfriend and I learning to settle down without settling, and eventually getting married, I was not at all interested in "going live". On the contrary, I just wanted to keep the world as far away from me as possible. But after the dust settled, the baby grew, my wife and I settled down (mostly), and together we found a new home to stream on...
A fresh start. A clean slate. A breath of fresh air.
Sometimes that's just what you need, and in my case it was at a chance to try again but in a different way. On twitch there was so much pressure to achieve the goals I had set out for myself, and to put on as good a show as possible, as long as possible. And in a place where the outcome of my life was uncertain. Of course I had anxiety going back to that place!
On DLive I had a chance to stream without anyone really knowing who I was or where I had been, but with the added convenience that it was on the STEEM blockchain, so I could blog about this kind of stuff :D
Sometimes, all you really need, is a new home. Where the walls aren't stained with the drama of the past. Where the floor is covered in the dust of your immature emotions, and the the view outside is obscured by the film of mistakes on the windows. All you just have to do is chalk up the courage to open the door and walk away, and for many that's the hardest part because there is always the thought that you can change the house, replace the windows and splash a new coat of paint on the walls and your good to go! But that's not always the case.
What if you can't change the house? What if the house is changing on it's own? What if the house is changing into something completely unfamiliar? You can conform to the change, or you can find someplace else, right?
Choices.
You don't have to move out, right? Of course not, you're not being evicted or anything, and I'm not even talking about a real house. I'm talking about how my new home on DLive was a positive change for me. The old house, that has now become a mansion for over 2.2 million broadcaster around the world, is now just a place I visit from time to time. I still have friends that are there and I still do the occasional dual-stream on there, but I do it to talk about my new home and hope that the viewer decides to drop by and check out the new digs.
I chose.
Want to maintain a healthy #streamlife? Consider making the choice to open the door, take a breath of fresh air, and walk out of that old house. You don't have leave for good. You can go back if you choose. You can stay for as long as you like. The choice is, and always will be yours.
So here's to new beginnings. To new homes. To new possibilities.
P.s. There @draboq. Short enough for ya? :P