The Chinese bamboo tree offers a powerful lesson on growth: It requires daily nurturing for several years before it ever breaks through the surface, but once it does, it can grow up to 100 feet in six weeks.

Your growth can be hard to see. It often occurs silently, under the surface. You make the daily investments in yourself, but are often completely unaware of their impact.

The challenge is that if you don't recognize your own growth in its most subtle, hidden forms, you may become discouraged on the journey, lose your motivation, and stop marching forward. This piece shares 9 hidden signs of personal growth.