I'm kinda with Ryan here... but everybody is different. Some guys need a nudge out of their comfort zone, and some need to be reeled back in a bit. Just don't limit yourself too much... there are lessons to be learned and valuable skills to develop out there.

I also would give different advice to a budding professional pilot than I would a weekend warrior. When you're flying a lot and training towards your commerical/CFI or even further, you're knowledge base is so dynamic that one flight may re-write all those 'personal minimums'. Conversely, you'll come back from a flight someday and say, "I never want to do that again"... hopefully you didn't exceed your ability, but maybe you just stepped to far outside your comfort zone. Be safe out there and have fun!