An excellent question and one I often ponder.
It all started for me when my Brother in Law loaned me his new camera (bear with me, it's relevant) just for the day. It was a Fuji compact. I took some pics of my then dog and I still have those pics of my dog and his memory recorded forever. Not long after I bought myself a Canon compact ( a Poweshot A40 ), all 2 megapixels of it but it was the bees back then. I didn't have a clue then about DSLRs but later on, I did feel I wanted a 'better' camera, so I got a Fuji S7000 bridge camera. I still have the Canon and the Fuji.
2005, enter DSLR for me, a 350D.
This is when I really got the bug and by 2010, I was using a Prosumer level camera, a 40D. I was a member of a camera club and I started to put some thought into my images for competition entry. This was my main focus (no pun intended), it was a challenge but it also helped me improve my photography, as on the whole, judges provide useful crit and this is where the improvement can lie. So the challenge of club competition photography, as well as learning not only from the competitions but other member's experiences too was one of the reasons I took photos back then.
Nowadays, I still take photographs for competitions but not first and foremost anymore. Now I love the new challenges, seeking out wildlife or chasing the light in remote places, being out there is a form of relaxation now and that is now as important to me as attempting to take decent images. I love discovering new areas and narrowing it down to particular compositions. I've taken the popular shots of The Buachaille for example but looking for new images in such places gives me a lot of satisfaction, another good reason to take pictures.
It's a constant learning circle and I now feel I have got to a stage where my better images can be on our walls as framed prints. A few have made it to other walls.
I enjoy sharing my images here too, good and bad and taking part in the forums, gaining help and advice and helping too when I can.
Also, I have made some good friends just by taking pictures, which is always going to be a good thing.