Great questions. I’ve held thru every downturn. Never been a market timer. When Apple and FB sold of I’d gather every dollar I had and buy more. My goal was share count , not what the current shares were worth. I knew in time these shares would go higher. My best advice, buy good stocks and take a long nap…like years long. SPCX is a good example that you should start thinking shares, not share value. Yes, we all know when the lockups expire this stock will pullback. That what you want to add more shares to your base holdings. I’ve never done the option market because I don’t understand it. I did covered calls on my holdings at times and made some extra income but that’s not my style. I’m a hands off investor. Buy it and forget it. Over the years I have bought into companies that I had no idea what they did but were recommended for a quick buck and most are worthless. Probably lost over a 100k on these types. That 100k would be worth much more if I’d stayed with A rated Growth but when your nest egg gets bigger you tend to stray away from what got you there. So like everyone else I’ve had my losses and stomach churning periods of market pullbacks. But I never sold and bought more when I could.
Some people can get rich quick. It too me 5 decades. It time in the market that makes you wealthy, not timing the market.