Before I joined Steemit, I spent much of my time of Medium. I didn't always write stories that I believed in often they were "how to" pieces. sure I got a response of two but nothing special.
Once I started to write from my heart and with authenticity my writing, the responses and, more importantly, the satisfaction I felt drastically improved.
I have written several pieces about writing/speaking/acting authentically and the difference in audience response when what one presents comes from the heart. Sure, not everything needs to be written like that but, it is good from time to time to explore as like you said, the feeling of satisfaction increases dramatically which I assume because, it becomes yours.