How do YOU play the Sims?

I find that I spend 99% of my time building, which is so much fun. I build from vintage floor plans I find on the internet, new custom home floorplans, then decorate. I really enjoy "playing" the game this way, but when I actually play, I get bored very quickly. I make some variation of essentially the same sim, buy a house, and immediately find a partner, have a kid, then get bored.

So my question is: How do you actually play the sims? What keeps you coming back to actual gameplay? What am I missing?! I want to actually enjoy playing the full game!