I’m planning on doing my first attempt at stand up pretty soon.  I’ve been writing a whole lot and looking forward to (hopefully) making people laugh.  I haven’t listened to that much stand up and I think that’s helpful so I can develop my own style and material.  I had written down what I thought was a pretty funny bit and was pretty proud of myself, but then last night I watched some Patrice O’Neil and found him saying basically the same thing I was thinking.  I had a genuinely original thought only to find that someone else has had the same original thought first.  Is there some sort of ethic to dealing with that?  Do I just avoid the joke even though I feel like it was original. 

Thanks!

I’d just try to change it a bit with your personal twist. There are some, many, thousands, millions of jokes out there with slight variations on the same basic idea. Just make it blend with what you do. If it’s a really good line that is exactly the same wording as the other, presumably better known comic, and it got a good laugh for you, go ahead and attribute it to the other guy along with another twist that appeals to your specific audience. For example, look around the house while looking for the comic theft police and play off that oddity. “Good thing I didn’t steal that line from the IRS” might work. Or segue into one of your other jokes.
Whatever, I wouldn’t fixate on any one line. Dump it and write something better. Or email me and I might sell you some good material.