The importance of friends who challenge

I recently had an hour-long conversation with a friend I've been trying to catch up with for at least 7-8 months. So finally after one of the worst games of phone tag in history, we had a chance to not just run each other through the list of updates in our lives but to go deeper and talk about what had effected the changes. As she shared about some of her recent experiences, she talked about the importance of having people in her life who knew her and challenged her to move forward, taking on and overcoming roadblocks that had been in place for years.
I have to question sometimes if I really seek out this kind of friendship in the ways that I invite others into my life. It's uncomfortable to have my sore spots and roadblocks challenged by others. It's easy to convince myself that they don't understand my situation and that somehow my inaction or lack of growth should be protected. I need to be reminded that it's not. I need my excuses repeated back to me to hear their hollowness. I need friends who are invested in my growth and rely on me for the same.