We all have pet peeves and one of mine are people who shuffle their feet. From a small child, I remember my mom yelling at us to ‘pick up your feet.’  And now, it seems, that so many younger people shuffle as they walk. What’s up with that?  You don’t go far and expend so much energy dragging your feet along.

My family was part of a judo club and we used to do 10 miles hikes along the railroad track to help build stamina.  Then, we also did the March Of Dimes 10 miles walk-a-thon back in the day.  You have to realize that in Omaha, it’s all up and down.  No matter what direction you’re going, you WILL have to climb a huge ass hill somewhere.  In fact, my family home was in the middle of one.  So, the shuffling of feet wasn’t an option.

Since I didn’t drive, it was my feet that got me most places.  So, I learned to walk with a long gait and at a nice clip.  Otherwise, it would take forever to get where I needed to be.  As you an imagine, people meandering along, slow as a sloth was annoying as hell.  😂

To me, people who shuffle their feet are just lazy.  Like leaning on a shopping cart while going through a grocery store.  Really?

Then the Libra side of me kicked in and said, “Maybe there’s a reason.  You know, older people might have a physical ailment.”  Off to Google I went to do some research.

For Seniors, one of the primary causes of shuffling feet is Parkinson’s.  Yikes.  Not so good. Other reasons are Peripheral Neuropathy, Neurological Disorders, and Poor Vision.  I get the poor vision part.  Since I’m visually impaired, I walk looking down a lot, trying to see if there’s anything I’ll stumble over. Still, I don’t shuffle my feet. But, it’s that fear of falling, and sliding the feet along that will cause the most falls.  A paradox for sure.

Well, that covers us old folks.  What about the younger crowd?

Let’s see, there’s hip or knee injuries, maybe arthritis, and even the types of shoes they wear.  Like flip-flops.  Did you know they are bad for your feet?  They can lead to real foot problems that may cause you to shuffle because of pain instead of just being lazy. And there’s the mental / emotional side to why people shuffle their feet.  Lack of self-confidence.  If you don’t like yourself, it shows in your body language.

So, pick up your head, pick up your feet, and QUIT shuffling. You’re Welcome. 🤣😂