This year has served as a not-so-subtle reminder that while the stock market tends to grow in value over long periods, it doesn't move up in a straight line. Since the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite hit their respective all-time highs between mid-November and the first week of January, they've all plummeted into a bear market (i.e., a decline of at least 20% from recent highs).

On one hand, bear markets aren't much fun. The volatility, unpredictability, and short-term unrealized losses associated with sizable market downswings can make investors question their desire to stick around. On the other hand, big declines in the stock market have always been a buying opportunity. Every single double-digit percentage decline in the major U.S. stock indexes has eventually been put into the rearview mirror by a bull market.

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Source Fool.com