History has shown us that even though share markets fluctuate regularly, the general trend is always upwards over the long term. For example, the S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index, which tracks the performance of the largest 300 companies on the Australian stock market, increased from 4,052 on 30 December 2011 (the last trading day of that year) to 7,453 on 31 December 2021, despite a lot of bumps along the way. When you add in the return of dividends paid over that period, that’s a total return of 184%. 1
In other words, if you had invested $10,000 in the S&P/ASX 300 on 30 December 2011, it would have been worth $18,393 on 31 December 2021. You would have also received a healthy flow of dividends along the way.
S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index market price over 20 years

Past performance is no indication of future performance.
Market downturns are inevitable, but they usually have periods of strong returns in between. Keep in mind that even if the immediate outlook for markets doesn’t look promising, it’s likely that they’ll pick up again at some point in the future.
That’s why, when it comes to your super, it’s important to take a long-term view. Your balance will likely go up and down over the short term in line with market movements, but if you stay invested your balance will generally increase over the long term.