Shmackey gave you the right scoop. Let me assure you, it's not a dumb question. Dumb is not asking, then having a negligent discharge and blowing your foot off. That's dumb. Like he said, the right way to decock a 1911 is to remove the magazine, empty the chamber, check to be sure that it is empty, and then dry fire.
The 1911 is made to be "cocked and locked". This is known as Condition 1. That's the best AND safest way to carry it. There are THREE things preventing a ND, not just two: the thumb safety, the grip safety, and not pressing the trigger.
Some people choose to carry in Condition 3. This is with loaded magazine, but chamber empty. The problem is that when you want to produce an intentional discharge, it will take longer and take two hands. (This is Hollywierd's favorite carry condition evidently, since they're always racking the slide for effect.
Condition 2 is having a round in the chamber but the hammer uncocked. This is a dangerous practice. You risk a NG when you decock and then later when you cock the hammer again. Condition 2 on a 1911 is just wrong. With a little practice you can rack the slide just as fast as cocking the hammer with your thumb and with less risk, making Cond. 3 better than Cond. 2.
Condition 1 is safe. It only LOOKS unsafe with the hammer back. We responsible gun owners need to be the people who don't fall for the "image over reality" problem that most of the sheeple out there fall for. I fully believe that it's image that drives the bureaucrats to mandate DA guns for law enforcement. They don't LOOK dangerous with that nasty hammer back! A good example of this is the fact that Glocks are allowed when 1911s aren't.
The only people who have NG's with 1911's are the ones who put their finger on the trigger when they shouldn't. Same with Glocks.
When I was a kid, growing up on a farm, we had guns as a matter of course. We had no training with them, they were just there. We handled them negligently, putting our fingers into the trigger guards whenever we handled them.
As an adult, the single most important habit to break and change was to teach myself to never put my finger into the trigger guard until intending to fire. It took quite a while, but now it's second nature to keep the finger out of the trigger guard when handling any gun.
Your holster should cover the trigger, so that you cannot press the trigger until the gun is free from it.
I strongly urge you to get some training from a first class training school or instructor, such as Front Sight, Gun Site, Thunder Range, etc. Your confidence will go way up, you'll be amazed at how much you will learn, and it's fun.