swim against the current

swim against the current

To go against or disagree with a prevailing or popularly held opinion or perspective; to act or behave contrary to the majority of others. I really swam against the current when I was in college, but as I've grown older I've found myself falling more in line with other people's way of thinking. I don't understand why you always have to swim against the current instead of making things a little easier on yourself!
See also: current, swim
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

swim against the current

Also, swim against the stream or tide . Go against prevailing opinion or thought, as in I'm voting for him even if that is swimming against the current. Shakespeare used a similar metaphor in 2 Henry IV (5:2): "You must now speak Sir John Falstaff fair, which swims against your stream." For the antonym, see swim with the tide.
See also: current, swim
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
See also:
  • swim against the stream
  • swim against the tide
  • go against the tide
  • swim upstream
  • swim with the current
  • swim with the stream
  • swim with the tide
  • swim with the tide, to
  • go with the stream
  • go with the tide
References in periodicals archive
This company will continue to swim against the current trend of frustration, and it deserves to progress and grow," Saqlawi told reporters after the signing ceremony.
It is in fact hard to see a leader who has enough conviction to damn the consequences and swim against the current towards a hostile direction that he alone has seen as the only realistic choice left.
Baitfish are not strong enough to swim against the current explained, Capt.
North Korea's UN Ambassador Kim Song told council members last month that criticism of Pyongyang's human rights record would "swim against the current trend" of rapprochement and "stoke confrontation".
Floating is your best option and will use less energy than trying to swim against the current will.
I always swim against the current. I don't go with the flow.
We're all different and some of us, from a very early age, are naturally predisposed to swim against the current. I am different, but in a good way.
"You need to swim against the current because there are so many forces tak-tak ing you away from spending 10 years at one football club.
Often we have to swim against the current to reap the rewards, go with your gut instinct and capitalise on current market conditions."
Can Mursi dare to swim against the current, especially that the Arab enmity to Iran, Hezbollah and Assad is in its peak?
Allow yourself to be hooked, as the team swim against the current and dare to dream an impossible dream.
Luckily he caught Daisy but couldn't swim against the current. They were both swept away.
It takes guts for an author to swim against the current this way, but unfortunately, the stern purity of Bell's vision is undercut by several serious flaws." MICHAEL LINDGREN
I swim against the current between the water lilies whose stems are exactly as deep as the water, underwater breaststroke, head breaking the mirror, ashen film, dead insects, bits of leaves, powder of tiny bodies, I have absolutely no fear, my head is in rhythm with the passing landscape, window to a cloudy sky, the weather is beautiful, the light is true, I hum between the undulating reeds, hello it's me, I'm singing: come into the gentle water, dolce vita, vita nova, it's me, coda, come on, then another one: I compose, I build myself up, I break myself down, pause, this is for you.
Many countries have recently lowered their taxes; Estonia should not "swim against the current."