What Doomsday Cults Can Teach You about Overcoming Disappointment and Failure

On October 22, 1844, sun rose in the morning and set in the evening. Things didn’t exactly go the way William Miller planned.

You see, Miller had studied the Bible very carefully. And in his reading he discovered that the end of the world was at hand. Between 1831 to 1844 about it, he had been telling everyone who would listen.

And oh boy did they listen…

From 1840, “Millerism” became a phenomenon. The ranks were swelling and Miller was pressed to come up with an exact date for Christ’s return. Finally, after consulting the Bible and the calendar of the Kariate Jews, the date was set–October 22, 1844.

Given the fact that we are still here, Christ failed to return. And left in the wake of the failed return of Christ, were Miller and his followers. One follower said of the event:

“I waited all Tuesday [October 22] and dear Jesus did not come;– I waited all the forenoon of Wednesday, and was well in body as I ever was, but after 12 o’clock I began to feel faint, and before dark I needed someone to help me up to my chamber, as my natural strength was leaving me very fast, and I lay prostrate for 2 days without any pain– sick with disappointment.”

The event would later be known as the Great Disappointment. Miller would die in 1849, still awaiting the imminent return of Christ.

We’ve all experienced disappointments and failures. But disappointment and failure are often due to forces beyond your control. For example, no one could predict the economic crisis that hit America. Many people lost a lot of money and there was in many cases nothing they could have done to prevent it.

Yes, we should take every precaution to give ourselves a chance to succeed. But this isn’t about preventing failure. It’s about dealing with it. So, what can we do?

Decide to change the way you react to disappointment and failure.

One way to do this is to reinterpret the event that led to the disappointment. Disappointment is a reaction. Instead follow the wisdom of philosopher Paul Reubens, who said in his treatise Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, “I meant to do that.”

An action that’s already happened cannot be changed. You can only change your thoughts. By reinterpreting the event, you look for the positive things to come from it. I do not suggest you do this right after it happens. But do it a little bit afterwards. Write down the positive effects.

Here are two examples from my personal life:

Fired from my job–>led me to a MUCH better job 30 days later that would determine my career

Lost my biggest client–>freed me to do a more fulfilling project, reduced my stress 1000%

Maybe in 10 years, the whole story will change. Instead of being fired from my job, I’ll say I quit and got a better one. Or I’ll say I dropped that client to do something meaningful. Memory is a funny thing.

But that is the key. The events didn’t change. My thoughts about those events did change.

And that is the way to deal with disappointment and failure.

Now, how did the Millerites dealt with their Great Disappointment? They broke up into several groups who had their own explanations for the Great Disappointment. From one of these groups arose The Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

Last time I checked, they’re at 17 million members and counting….