Afterlife

I found an article on Big Think and I think it is really, really interesting. The writer hypothesizes that if people knew that a little while after they died, an asteroid would destroy life on Earth, things like cancer research and engineering projects would stop. The only reason why people do things to help people is because they want to make sure that it will benefit the future of the world, but if the earth was doomed anyway, there is no point. The thesis is that the future existence of earth is our primary motivation to do work.
As a pretty nonreligious person, I find it hard to believe in heaven or other forms of afterlife, but I do agree that hope is a large motivator for me. I make art in the hopes that I will get better at it. I go to school in the hopes that someday I'll go to college and get a good job. If I knew for a fact that I would never get better at art or get a good job, I would probably stop. There is no use watering a flower that will never grow.
Here is the link for anyone who is interested:
http://bigthink.com/ideafeed/how-knowledge-of-an-afterlife-gives-existence-meaning