Yeah, right now I don't feel like doing analysis so excuse me for being general, but it is true that there is a big distinction between knowing a lot about chess and knowing how to find good moves versus being able to do it in a tournament situation . I know it can be scary sometimes since if you make one big mistake you might never recover, but I think you just have to put your head out there and calculate as confidently as you can, and if you make a mistake well that's life -- as long as you learn from it you will eliminate that mistake from your future games.
So yeah, just wanting a draw in a better position, while understandable, probably isn't the best mentality because it makes life easier on your opponent -- sometimes you have to find some accurate moves to convert an advantage; you should be willing to at least try this. I'd say just have confidence in your own moves, within reason of course, and if that results in a mistake, it's the only way you can grow anyway. If you just insist on playing the safe move every time, you are giving your opponents a break they don't deserve.
I was basically like that too, but I've started to get used to tournament play. I know that it's not just about what I know about chess; I also have to be able to execute my knowledge too.
Here is an OTB game i played. The more I analyze this game, the more I realize, I am blind at tactics OTB. My head blocks out certain tactics and I am not noticing winning tactics or proper positional moves that will give me a superb position. If I had to guess on how I played....well I played...not too well. Can someone do an analysis?