逆水行舟，不进则退
nì​shuǐ​xíng​zhōu​bù​jìn​zé​tuì

to go against the current

逆水行舟，不进则退 逆水行舟，不進則退 nì​shuǐ​xíng​zhōu​bù​jìn​zé​tuì
to go against the current
like rowing a boat upstream, if you do not move forward you will fall back; a proverb used to encourage constant effort in difficult situations to avoid backsliding