The two main meanings of the concept of “growth” are growth as a process (as dynamics) and growth as a result of the process (as statics, as a characteristic of an object).
«Flowers started to grow» — here it is said about the process, about the beginning of the dynamics. “A young man of high stature” — here “growth” speaks of static, the result of a process.
— this is a natural unfolding of what is inherent in a living organism as its potential. If a boy gains weight simply because the food he eats is digested in him, this is growth. Growth happens on its own, from within. It depends little on the will of the boy and those around him — just do not interfere and better create conditions. The external environment creates conditions for growth, but the cause of growth, the real source of the growth process, is inside.
— not changing the essence, quantitative changes in a big way. When talking about growth as a result, it does not matter where the source of growth was, inside or outside. The indicators have grown, which means that growth is evident. It was this definition that was often found in the old encyclopedias: growth is quantitative change.
In practical psychology, growth is more often spoken of as a process, a process of growth. When you read just the word «growth» — most likely, we are not talking about a specific indicator, not about quantitative changes, but about the process of natural unfolding of internal potential.
For example, personal growth is an increase in the potential of the individual, which occurs as a result of the natural unfolding in a person of what is inherent in him by nature or has become his second nature.
At the same time, there is an important addition: they talk about growth only with something healthy in mind. If the body weight of a dystrophic increases, they say not about growth, but about the fact that the patient is on the mend. In this regard, it is hardly legitimate to talk about personal growth that occurs in the process of psychotherapy: apparently, in this case it is more accurate to talk about psychocorrection.