I think it is selfish and egotistical to believe the only better, or higher thing, than myself is an omnipotent God. This is what I believe is higher than myself.
1) A hero who is a true and good person.
Practical advice: Find this person. Befriend them. Spend time with them. Learn from them. Enrich yourself in the process.
2) Civilization and society and the protections they afford us. There's a reason why your neighbor doesn't beat you on the head and steal your property. 90% of the world lacks these protections, so consider yourself lucky.
Practical advice: Read the philosophical underpinnings of law, why man initially created it, and why it serves as the foundation of free countries.
3) Intellectual reason and the logical objectivity it brings. Along with the wonders they afford us. Also the more subjective aspects of humanity to include art and music.
Practical advice: Read. Read something that makes you think. Go to film festivals and relish in the human experience. See both the beauty and faults of being human. Go to a museum. Even if you don't get art, just go and ask yourself, why do people think this is important. Relate to it.
You can believe in your fellow man...and he too can believe in you. And we can use this rationale to move humankind forward through cooperation.
Yes, I am an agnostic. Maybe there is a God, But I believe it would be silly not to give me entrance into heaven because I am a good person who would never intentionally harm another human being. If not, then he is not a God I would wish to believe in anyway.
The key alternative to God for me is enriching myself for the sake of humility. The practical aspects of this coin is GO DO SOMETHING, so that you're not sitting around with little or no stimulus. Keep your mind busy, and you will find that new person in yourself that doesn’t need alcohol.
But always admit that you know nothing, Aristotle said this was the mark of a wise man anyway.
Good luck