In today’s fast-paced investment world, it’s easy to get caught up in trying to time market peaks and troughs. But is that really important in the grand scheme of things? During the great financial crisis, many spent significant time consulting with experts, attempting to predict stock market movements. Looking back, it seems like a futile endeavor.

Imagine if you had completely missed the mark with market timing, yet still committed to long-term stock investing. For instance, buying at the market peak of Oct. 9, 2007 would have resulted in major losses by the spring of 2009. However, by now, you would have recovered and then some. According to FactSet, the S&P 500 saw returns of 7.1 percent annualized or 207 percent cumulatively, considering solely price. With reinvested dividends, the index gained 9.3 percent annualized or 325 percent cumulatively.

Admittedly, it’s possible to outperform these returns by timing the market perfectly. Yet, accurately predicting market movements over extended periods is a near-impossible task. Additionally, selecting the right stocks to buy and sell is another challenge. Simply holding onto shares of a high-performing stock like Apple could have yielded a total return of 3,760 percent. However, identifying such stocks in advance is a daunting prospect.

Ultimately, the market peak holds different meanings for different individuals. For me, it reinforces the value of long-term, low-cost buy-and-hold investing. Let’s move past this peak and focus on the potential for many more to come.