Maybe that's just it, issues with one's mortality.

Perhaps it relates to the idea that each should have an impact, a legacy.

The desire to do good things is noble, the desire for people to see
good in you may also be noble, but I don't know about the desire to be
recognized for doing good things.

Change is the one thing we can count on, but I can see how some would want to escape this reality by trying to create something stable, immutable, incorruptible, something that they can feel safe in being associated to.