Are we truly following Christ if there are no signs of His influence in our lives?

In his discourse, Paul Thompson uses the metaphor of walking through a forest behind someone to depict discipleship. The idea is that if we're trailing someone through a forest and they have soil on their footwear or pollen from the trees on their sleeves, we should have the same if we're truly following them. In the same vein, Thompson asserts that we can't claim to be followers of Christ if there's nothing about us that resembles Him.

If we don't show any signs of being in the same mindset or "location" as Christ, then our claim to be His followers becomes questionable. The essence of discipleship is to resemble the one we're following. This resemblance is not superficial, but rather a deep-rooted identification with Christ's teachings, mindset, and way of life that should be evident in our lives.

1 Peter 2:21 (NKJV): "For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps."

If I say that I'm following somebody and they walk through a trail in the forest and they have certain kind of soil on their shoe or they have certain pollen from various trees in that forest, this would be true as well that I can't be identified as one who's truly following the Lord Jesus Christ if I don't have the same dust on my shoes or the same pollen on my shirt sleeves. If I don't have anything that identifies me as being in the same location or the same mindset as the Lord Jesus Christ, then you can't make the claim, you can't make the argument that you really are a follower of Him if there's nothing about you that looks anything at all like the one you're following.