In Every Good Story the Hero Gets Tested

In every good story, the hero gets tested.  Well, lately I have been pushing myself, testing myself like the hero in your favorite story, to go past the safety of the known and into the unknown, past the first solution that looks nice to take a chance and go on a journey to see not only where I will end up, but also how it will change me.  The piece above is titled, "For the Sake of the Journey" and is just that kind of piece.  Originally, I was trying out some new , very pale colors, and I got to the point of a nice composition, but it wasn't exciting, just nice.  I decided to risk losing the original painting and to keep working past this safe place.  I love the way the little blue, black and red squiggle area ended up in the middle right.  It was scary, but I am glad that I pushed on, I feel like the new piece has such good energy and so much more depth, but I am always interested in your thoughts!  What would you have done?  Played it safe and stopped or pushed on?