Borrowing a friend’s car makes you polite about their music. Owing people shapes your behavior more than you notice.

Debt is quieter than it sounds. Owing somebody bends the small things first: you laugh at the joke, you skip the disagreement, you let the plan go their way because the ledger is running in the back of your head. None of it is dishonest, and all of it adds up to a version of you that is being slightly managed.

Work out who you owe right now, in money, favors, or rides. Clear the small ones this week even if it is awkward. On the rest, say what you actually think once, and see whether the friendship was ever about the balance.