Fear of death is a big motivation for many people, or fear of
   suffering.

   I think one of the strongest fears is being ignored. Forgotten.
   Nobody letting you know that you exist.

   Why else would we speak or do things but to be noticed, either
   by other people now or in the future, or even to ourselves in
   the future. [we write notes to ourselves so our future self will
   know what to do and wasn't forgotten because their past self
   thought kindly enough to write a note]