Daughters question?

I have a wonderful ten yr old girl who's heart is VERY big! However, she does really stupid things sometimes without thinking and I know for a fact she doesn't do these things in a "deliberate defiance" of me or anyone else as my mother would say. Her solution to any problem is or hitting (not my cup of tea) I do not want my daughter to fear me but I also am not interested in being her best friend. I'm her mother and I know that comes first. What can I do to help her? All her teachers adore her. She defends her friends when they get picked on and gets all A's and B's in school and is a VERY happy kid! She loves life but she is so stubborn sometimes.