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The bear market of 1973 was, at the time, the worst stock market crash since the Great Depression. The country was in disarray abroad with Vietnam and domestically with the Watergate scandal. Compound that with an energy crisis and soaring inflation and you can easily see why investors got spooked into making some bad decisions.

The bear market of 1980 is the classic example of a "V-shaped" recovery. It also occurred during one of the most severe recessions in American history, with the unemployment rate peaking at 10.8%.

On Monday, October 19, 1987 the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 22.6%. To this day, "Black Monday" remains the largest single day drop in the history of the American stock market. 

A bear market is defined by a 20% drop from a previous high. During the third and fourth quarters of 1990 the S&P 500 fell 19.9%. While this bear market may have been the smallest in history, it doesn't necessarily mean it was the least scary. Fear is a much harder metric to measure.

What goes up must come down. This is was painfully true for markets during the peak of the dot-com bubble. When we take a closer look, we can start to see some very big differences between recent bear markets and today's. 

It is considered the worst economic recession since the Great Depression; the financial calamity that was 2008 serves as a reminder of just how bleak things can appear in the US economy and financial markets. 

Interest rates in America are still historically low. While that may be helpful in stimulating an economy, it is not so helpful if you are trying to generate income in retirement.

As in most areas of life, the key to a successful long term investment strategy is consistency. While this statement may seem obvious, too many investors find themselves breaking this fundemental rule by reacting to market volatility, or reducing their contributions when times are hard.

Every potential retiree's needs and wants can be so different, therefore it is important not to make too many assumptions about what retirement actually is or should look like. For most people, retirement is just doing more of what you like, and less of what you don't.

It can be difficult to jettison emotion when it comes to investing. History is littered with poor financial decision making as a result of forgetting that emotion is the foe of the long term investor.