Go Compete !
100% agree, competition will take you out of your comfort zone and cause you to confront shooting problems one would never expect. People get nervous and, I think, equipment gets nervous.... Guns will malfunction that have never malfunctioned before. I used to do a lot of IDPA and a little USPSA but strictly handgun competition got a little boring even though I was hardly a master..
Now my prefered competitive outlet is 2 gun action, I would hesitate to call it extreme, everything is "extreme" these days. I really like the "Brutality" series of matches.