Carl Richards at behaviorgap.com does elegant sketches that simplify complex concepts. One he emailed out yesterday was the good reminder below.
It is not normal for markets to go up, unimpeded. In fact, historically, they move in fits and starts…one step forward, two steps back…three steps forward, one step back. When markets move up with nary a pause, investors get complacent; they buy without thinking. One of the healthy things about corrections—which are also normal things—is they give market participants a splash of cold water, and mixed metaphors, aside, that’s a good thing.