Try not. There are WAY too many institutional investors at Blackrock, State Street and Vanguard, not to mention the likes of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, waiting for a 25-30% drop to start buying up stocks at fire-sale prices. They all remember what one Joseph Patrick Kennedy did from 1929 to 1937, where he bought up distressed stocks and real estate and sold them all by 1938 for a HUGE profit. It's a classic case of a "bargain hunter" sale for the rich.
Don’t know how much this will go down yet, but I doubt the decline will end until we are into March.
For those who have no defensive strategy, this can be painful.