Never Let Them Steal Your Joy

Adrian S. Potter
5 min readAug 5, 2021

Safeguard your smile.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

The Secondhand Inspiration Project begins with a motivational quote and ventures wherever the creative path meanders.

“Be you. Do you. Don’t let anybody steal your joy.” — Lizzo

Humor me. Take an inventory of all the miserable individuals you interact with on an average day.

I guarantee you will be surprised at the number of people who frequently give off shitty vibes in your life. That coworker who lashes out because they are insecure. The barista who serves your latte with snide remarks. A daydreamer who accidentally bumps into you with a shopping cart but does not say excuse me. The friend you call for support but interrupts and complains about their day. That jerk who cuts you off in traffic and has the nerve to give you the finger.

If you did not know better, you would think there was a conspiracy to rob you of your happiness.

But you cannot let some coalition of cranky curmudgeons assassinate your bliss. If you utilize security cameras and locks to protect your house and valuables, keep that same energy and safeguard your smile.

People can be as rude, self-centered, disrespectful, uncaring, and mean as they want. But do not allow their destructive energy to derail your positivity. No matter what, defend and enjoy…

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Adrian S. Potter

Antisocial Extrovert · Writer and Poet, Engineer, Consultant, Public Speaker · Writing about self-improvement, gratitude, and creativity · www.adrianspotter.com