Looking Lifeless

I have been thinking about my painting.  Eventhough my friends and family like them, I still feel there is much more I want them to be rather than just  pretty pictures.  They should portray the energy, the romance, the LIFE that they are supposed to tell.  I wonder when I will be brave to let the brush strokes go the way they should go.  I am very restrained and careful at every stroke, which I know is not good for myself.