The radio and television, filled with bad news: high inflation, war, social unrest over race, polarized politics, etc.

I’m not talking about today, though: I’m talking about the year 1968. Americans were going through really bad times 54 years ago. In many cases, far worse than today.

On this day in 1968, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 906, or 3% of where it is now. Holding on through the turmoil from that day until today (the lowest day in the stock market so far this year) resulted in a 6.7% annualized return.

This is not meant to trivialize today’s tumultuous environment as there are certainly problems and resulting stock market volatility. It is, though, to be a reminder that you should not let short term fluctuations deter you from staying with your long-term objectives.