Floundering is like flopping around and making little progress, similar to getting mired and lost, as the Dutch word suggests.

Foundering is what we call it when the ship goes down, derived from an ancient French word meaning the bottom. It’s a more drastic scenario than floundering.

Too often, in our desperate attempt to avoid foundering, we end up floundering instead. It’s better to go down with energy and direction than to simply meander. Executing a plan calmly reduces the chances of sinking.