I need some incentive.

I know what you mean and have this a lot as well with TS4. It’s just that there isn’t much happening around you. I find it helps me to start off with single sims or very few sims and just play their story as it comes. Say yes to everything: festivals, bar nights, etc. Because if you get out of the house at least some stuff happens. The other alternative is to play a relatively large household with adults doing very different things to keep some variety. I always end up playing a family, no matter how I start, but the story to get there is usually what makes me feel attached at all. But yeah I always find that TS4 works best for me when I don’t plan a specific story (or keep it minimal) and just kind of go with the flow. Although even then I might have to start multiple sims / households until I feel a click with any of them lol but when I finally do it can get really fun, otherwise it’s tedious.