For many investors, this has shaped up to be one of the most challenging years on record. Since hitting their respective all-time highs between mid-November and the first week of January, the broad-based S&P 500, celebrated Dow Jones Industrial Average, and growth-focused Nasdaq Composite have all plunged into bear market territory (i.e., a minimum decline of 20% from a recent high).

Although bear markets can be scary due to the velocity and unpredictability of their moves lower, historically, they've always been an opportunity for patient investors to put their money to work. Throughout history, every single double-digit percentage decline in the major U.S. stock indexes has been wiped away by a bull market rally. The only thing needed for this to happen is time.

Time has been an ally of individual stock investors, too. Just ask the longtime shareholders of healthcare conglomerate Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ).

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Source Fool.com