As an investor, you might hope one of your investments gets lucky and yields multibagger returns quickly, growing your stake to an amount that gives you the financial freedom you've always dreamed of. The trouble is, that generally isn't how investing in the stock market works.

And while some investors try to time the market in pursuit of wealth, in reality, that strategy turns out to be much more like gambling than investing. Even if you get the timing right once, it's unlikely you'll be able to replicate that success in a way that delivers any meaningful outperformance. More likely than not, you'll miss out on the best market days because you're trying so hard to avoid the bad ones and fail to accrue a large share of the gains that you could have earned. It ends up creating a lot of complications.

Investing doesn't have to be that complicated. It boils down to consistently putting cash into great businesses and holding onto those stakes for three to five years at a bare minimum. Along the way you judiciously trim your losers and add to your winners, letting patience and time be your allies. These steps can help you yield steadier, more rewarding returns with time while removing the guesswork that comes with attempts to time the market.

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Source Fool.com