How to know you're ready to help someone else

You don't need to be an expert to help someone else learn. You just need to have solved a problem they haven't solved yet, even by a single step. One clear sign you're ready is catching yourself explaining a concept clearly, without checking your own notes, and having it come out simple instead of tangled.

I've noticed this in myself — the moment I can explain something clearly without checking my own notes is usually the moment I'm actually ready to help. Helping someone else also deepens your own understanding, because their questions will be different from the ones you asked yourself, and answering those new angles fills in gaps you didn't know you had.

Try this today: think of one small thing you've learned recently that someone a step behind you hasn't figured out yet. Offer to show them, in plain words, with no notes in front of you. If you can do it clearly, you're more ready to help than you think.