Investors can't avoid corrections and bear markets

Investors can't avoid corrections and bear markets any more than northerners can avoid snowstorms. 
In 50 years of owning stocks, you can expect

• 25 corrections, of which
• 8 or 9 will turn into bears.

You can expect 1 correction every 2 years, on average.

You can expect 1 bear every 6 years, on average, that is, every 3 corrections turned into bear markets.