Your shadow copies every move and never makes one. Don’t confuse followers with friends.

Agreement is cheap and easy to mistake for loyalty. Somebody who matches whatever you do adds nothing to your thinking, and the arrangement tends to suit both sides, since they get access and you get the pleasant sensation of never being questioned. A friend will tell you that you are wrong. A shadow cannot, having no position of its own.

Count who around you has disagreed with you in the last month. If the answer is nobody, that is information about your circle rather than proof you were right. Ask the one person who will push back what they actually think.