The annoying thing with chess though, is sometimes good looking moves are bad!
Lets say you work out why your move could be good, and you almost always play this kind of move anyway... in fact in most positions it is a good move, but did you work hard to find all its bad points? Did you look for a move that may be even better? I think this is what the OP is talking about.
I'm an extremely new player but I've realized that to get better you need to constantly analyze/re-assess your game. When I either, experiment with a new opening, or play with a different mindset I struggle at first and my rating drops. However, if I stick with it I pass my previous highest rating and gained a new weapon in addition. Of course, no one like losing or seeing their rating dwindle lmao.
so true op....for years I had a tendency to stay within my comfort zone and not really improving my game......coming to this site and playing correspondence chess really improved my game. correspondence gave me a chance to learn the openings and analyze the middle game. tactics trainer was also a big help
As long as I can see the move actually going somewhere, I'm completely okay with playing it. If I don't understand the move in that exact instance, I wont play it. Like sacking half your major pieces to mate the king, as long as I know it's the right move, I'm completely okay with doing it. If I don't see the move working, that's why I always analyze my games.