New Delhi, June 2 -- Investors often spend years waiting for the "perfect entry point" or panic at the first sign of a market downturn. Yet one lesson from more than two decades in financial markets stands out: time in the market, not timing the market, is the foundation of wealth creation.

Attempting to time the market is like trying to predict the start of the Mumbai monsoon, which is unpredictable. Even seasoned professionals struggle to predict short-term movements, as markets are swayed by geopolitical shifts, published economic data, a financial crisis, and even a viral tweet or comment.

Consider this: In a study of the Nifty 50 since 2005, we looked at instances where the index registered a 10% drawdown. In previous 15 such insta...