Do you know what I mean if I say "You're standing in your own light"?

Just taking a guess, it either means standing in your own way, or finally opening yourself up to who you are?

I genuinely don’t know, even though it sounds like it’d be easy to figure out.

I haven’t heard that expression in a long time. It meant you were in your own shadow and should move so you could see what you were doing more clearly. Usually just “in your own light”.

Deserve whatever good things that happen to me because it was well-earned?

Oh…could it be…I pay my own electricity bills?

Standing in your own light would be causing yourself harm. It would be the type of harm that causes people to view you negatively or that will stifle your ability to grow.

I don’t think the expression is used very much.

Piss on yourself, figuratively.

“that was no microdose, maaaaan”

I learned it as a child, in the context in which it was used it usually meant that one was tooting their own horn, displaying a certain conceit, and pretty much alone in their high opinion of self.

It sounds to me similar to “you’re hiding your light under a bushel” meaning you are preventing your best qualities from being seen. But I never heard it before.

To me it sounds like you’re trying to polish a turd of your own making. You’re trying to make light of a situation you created and others are not seeing that light.

It could have two opposite meanings. In one, you are interfering with or denigrating yourself by blocking the light from shining on you. In the other, you are promoting yourself by shining a spotlight on yourself. A phrase with two opposing interpretations is not very useful.

You’re getting in the way of yourself, preventing your positive qualities from showing.

I seem to remember my mother mentioning it once. It meant that I was working in my own shadow, and that if I moved I could see better.

I’ve never heard this expression before. Guessing that it’s similar to standing in your own way?

^^ That’s what it sounded like to me.

I’d also never heard of “you’re hiding your light under a bushel”.

Wondering if there’s a comprehensive book on idioms. They’re so interesting.

@raum that quote refers to Matt 5:14–16
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Interesting! Thanks for sharing.

@raum: “Bushel” version: King James. “Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.”

And yes, there is such a book, Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. My copy is more than 50 years old, and of course I’ve annotated it. There are much more recent editions; and I’m guessing there are other such works out there as well.

@Jeruba So how about telling us what it means to you?

I heard the expression frequently in my younger years, and my mother used it often. I didn’t realize it had lost its currency until I saw it used incorrectly in a recent article.

I understand it to mean, literally, that a person is positioned between an object of interest and a light source—casting their own shadow on what they’re trying to see; for example, trying to read something when the light is directly behind them. “Your own light” means the light you are trying to see by—to shine on something. Standing in it, you’re blocking the light, obscuring your own view.

Figuratively, metaphorically, it means to get in your own way; specifically, to hinder your own ability to see or recognize something you need to be aware of. A person who is, let’s say, overcommitted to some cause or ideology or relationship may be preventing himself from seeing what’s right in front of him. I would say he’s standing in his own light.

But now I guess I’ll refrain from using it since it seems too likely to be misunderstood.

Ha! My mother was the one who used it (wrong) and I’m not surprised, she was absolute on the idea that she was to be the only one occupying the light.
Thanks for clarifying.

@Jeruba Thanks! Will check out a copy at the local library. Love this kind of stuff. So much history in a handful of words.

The first answer I wrote I erased, because initially I read it as “you’re blocking my light.” In my family we use that expression all of the time still till this day. If someone blocks sunlight or light from a lightbulb and I can’t see what I’m trying to read or whatever I’m working on I would say it to them. I’ve never heard it in terms of the person themselves blocking the light source.

Seems to mean the same as “You’re your own worst enemy.”

I’ve never heard this term before. It sounds like it might mean “self-aggrandizement”.

Now I’ll look at the other answers to see if I was close.

Never heard that one. But Google is your friend they say.

The point of the question isn’t whether you know how to google, it’s about how familiar people are with this phrase. And how it can be interpreted by people who are hearing it for the first time.