Lately I have been watching Malcolm and the Middle. Such a funny show. It actually inspired my post this Sunday. On that show somewhere in the middle of season 5, they mention that there are two types of people burrowers and floaters. If you have seen the show Lois tells Malcolm that “Dewey is a flier; he’ll just drift and float through life and things will turn out for him. But you and I, Malcolm, are burrowers. We are at our best when our heads are down and we’re grinding through a mountain of drudgery.”
This was really interesting to me at 1am when I began to question: Am I a burrower or a floater?
Let me break it down for you burrowers are the people who have to work for every single thing that they get. When I think of an example of a burrower I think of Chelsea Handler (this post is going to be a bit of a journey, so stay with me). Chelsea Handler worked as a waitress for 10 years. She said that she was never the best waitress, but she was always the person people called if they needed a shift covered because she would always say yes. Chelsea has always said that she always showed up, she may not have been the best, or doing something she loved to do, but she always showed up. To be able to do that for a job you don’t even want is exactly how I think burrowers act. They show up whether they like it or not because that’s just how they work.
And then there are floaters, a floater is someone who things just tend to happen too. They drift along and things turn out for them. I like to think of Jennifer Lawrence, she was spotted on the streets of New York at 14 to become a model which later turned into an acting career. She constantly booked TV shows until a few years later when she got a big break in a movie that launched her career. Like Dewey, Jennifer Lawrence is a floater, she floated through life and things turned out for her. They are always in the right place at the right time.
Even while I was writing this post I couldn’t decide if I was a burrower or a floater. I feel like everyone would like to think that they are a burrower. They have to fight for everything that they have. They are the protagonists of books and movies. They are the fighters, they have a good work ethic and sometimes it pays off and sometimes it doesn’t. It builds character and makes them appreciate what they have.
I think most people who are floaters would have no idea that they are, I think that is part of what makes them floaters. Floaters have a bad reputation of taking things for granted and not understanding the value of hard work. But I think floaters may have a sixth sense. They are never worried about the future or concerned about the silly day-to-day stuff, it’s like they know for certain that everything will be fine.
So do I think I am a burrower or a floater?
I think I am a burrower. That was really hard to determine because I do have a lot of amazing things happen to me that are completely out of my control.What I think makes me a burrower is my total willingness to do things that I think will help me in the future. A lot of those things I don’t love to do, but I do them because I am able to and because I think they are necessary.
But the main reason that I think I am a burrower is because I am so aware of the floaters around me. I truly believe that if I was one of them I would be unaware. So as much as I wish I was a floater, I’m not.
So what do you think are you a burrower or a floater?