How do you stay motivated?

I find loss of motivation comes from loss of momentum. I lose motivation when I'm in a rut. Doing the same things over and over again. Whether its moving logos around as an analyst, or dissecting termsheets legals as a VP, the more of the same thing you do, the more cookie cutter it gets. I need "new and exciting" to be motivated.

Reposting something I wrote up some time ago to keep that momentum. Also helps to have a life outside of work, no matter how little. 

Execution and process get pretty cookie cutter, broadly the same steps. Shit gets monotonous man. It comes down to us as bankers doing a really bad job of laying it out to juniors that a lot of your development has to be self-driven. There is an expectation you'll figure out what to do next and how to grow outside the title hierarchy. I think this is where you're at, obviously through no fault of your own. If banking is for you long term, the objective should be a seat at the big boy table as fast as you can and driving your own development is key.

TLDR advice: find a champion, VP or above. Anyone who'd rather be out and about building relationships than sitting at their desk. Ideally a director. Anyone who will champion your involvement in "big boy" meetings, even if for nothing else than listening and/or taking notes. There is a lot of value listening in on senior discussions re: ideas, deal strategy etc. Lots of learning by osmosis. Will really accelerate your development and get you some good face time creds if that matters.

Long form below.

I will beat this drum to death. My experience with big banks is with the hierarchy, there is a cog in the wheel aspect and the junior teams get left out of the "big picture" stuff, which is really the fun part IMO. On the M&A side, it's deal strategy, negotiation, ego management, lots of game theory. You hear the term "maintaining deal tension" thrown around, but there's a lot of thought and nuance to playing bidders off each other (or even nobody at all). It's really an art and super fun. On the coverage side, it's understanding the dynamics of your industry, seeing trends, building relationships and coming up with sellable ideas.

Emotionally, I was exactly where you were. Monotony breeds dissatisfaction, which really burns me out. Started injecting myself into the fun stuff - deal strategy convos, idea generation discussions, taking charge of messaging for pitches. Basically a lot of stuff my VP would be bogged down by. She loved it, it let her have more time go build a rolodex. It was a kiddie view into the big boy table but would give me things to learn, read up and get smart on, real development stuff. Just listening to senior bankers talk about clients, deal and strategy is enlightening. Lots of learning by osmosis and honestly a huge part of my development.