Perhaps the toughest realization all investors come to is that the stock market doesn't move up in a straight line -- even if we wish it would. Last year, all three major U.S. stock indexes were firmly entrenched in a bear market, with the growth-focused Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) hit hardest. The index directly responsible for pulling the broader market to new all-time highs in 2021 shed 33% of its value last year.

However, sizable declines in the Nasdaq Composite offer once-in-a-decade -- or perhaps once-in-a-generation -- opportunities to buy into industry-changing businesses at a discount. After all, every major decline in the Nasdaq Composite throughout history has, eventually, been cleared away by a bull market. This bear market will prove no different.

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Source Fool.com