Playing at breakeven

I have been noticing a pattern in my play. I seem to be a breakeven player when I play "smart." My bad run lately has been due to being way too loose and aggressive. Anyways, when I am on my "smart" sessions, I will go up and then come down and go up and come down. I hover just above breakeven. I can never seem to continue having an outstanding session where I walk away feeling like I'm moving in the right direction. Don't get me wrong, anytime I finish a session in the green, I feel good, but I know I can do alot better.

Example: I just played 143 mins, 248 hands, and only won $8.75 on a .50/1$ 6max at EmpirePoker.

Anybody have any advice or thoughts or want me to explain more?