Avoiding post-flop play against better opponents

[Yuv]

Is it a basic mistake? When I play against world class online players (i.e. Johnny Bax, SamENole, The Shrike etc) I tend to play a push/fold kinds of game if i'm "stuck" playing against them.

I'm not talking about premium hands, obviously, but I tend to avoid post flop with hands like medium pocket pairs (88-JJ) AJ-AQ and so on. Is it smart to try and avoid situation where they force me to make a decision, or should I try and out play them and learn from my mistakes?

- I'm talking about mid-game, mostly. End-game would become a push/fold game anyhow.