Hi Sno-
Yeah, I think SMART Recovery discusses bettering yourself and learning self-control in the way that you describe. I could be wrong, I just did some basic reading about it. Like the others here, I use AVRT.
I am a believer in God, but the God issue wasn't my problem with AA. My problem with AA is that I didn't accept that I had a disease or that I was powerless. I accepted that alcohol and I can never be friends, but I needed to be able to trust myself and rely on myself to remain sober. And it works for me. For some reason, having only myself to get the job done really motivates me.