One of the first things,  among many , that I learned about staying sober was that i had to begin to change my way about thinking. For me this meant that I had to abandon the negativity that consumed my being.  For many years, while drinking, my thoughts about life were that filled with hate and selfishness. I hated my way of existing, I hated people  and I hated that God could let me live a life  I had.  Self pity also consumed my mind as I was always thinking  ” why me”.  In sobriety I have learned that I  had an illness that consumed my mind, body and spirit. It took some time but I began to see that, when drinking, I had not a choice in the way i was living because I was sick. I know realize that God had been there all along with me regardless of my feelings about him. You see, I believe he had great plans for me and it took taking a good look at my past lifestyle to see how I could be useful to others suffering from Alcoholism. As far as hating people I now know that we are all God’s children and hating another human being is to hate God. Now going on 13 years of sobriety I have caught myself occasionally slipping back into old thinking patterns of negativity. My wife even mentioned this to me. Thanks to her I have recognized my faults ans have been able to pray for God to remove that character defect, as they say. I certainly am not perfect but I know if I continue my path of prayer and believing in myself I will be fine. i suppose this will always be a work in progress. I pray that if you suffer from negativity or self-pity that you too can find a way to a wonderful new way at looking at life. May God Bless You!