The Ass and His Purchaser

"A man wished to purchase an Ass (a Donkey), and decided to give the animal a test before buying him. He took the Ass home and put him in the field with his other Asses. The new Ass strayed from the others to join the one that was the laziest and the biggest eater of them all. Seeing this, the man led him back to his owner. When the owner asked how he could have tested the Ass in such a short time, the man answered, 'I didn't even need to see how he worked. I knew he would be just like the one he chose to be his friend.'"

I was thinking about the moral of the story the other day. I hadn't heard this story until today but it perfectly explains the predicament I'm in.

You are known by the company you keep.

Granted, I've had some people recently in my life become my company no longer. But there are just some people in my life I don't want to by known by. I really want to get to know some of my coworkers more and bond with them, but by no means do I want to be known by them. They make decisions and say things and do things that I flat out do not agree with. And the worst part is the people I want be to known with I never or rarely see... So again I'm stuck between a rock a hard place.
Do I stick it out with the people I don't want to be known by or do I start over??
Or how deep of a relationship do I keep with the people I don't want to be known by??
Where would I start to look for new "company"??
If I stick it out, how do I distinguish between who they are and who I am??

I'm plagued by this concept and idea and I think of scriptures that talk about removing the people in your life that don't build you up or encourage you in your faith. I have plenty of those people in my life and if I really did cut them out, I'm not sure who all would be left... I'd like to think that most of the people in my life really do encourage me, but the truth of the matter is they just don't. And that is such a hard reality to wrap my mind around.

I'm trying to live my life in a way that pleases God in everything I do. I've been a hypocrite for too long. I want my actions to match my words. I want my life to be an accurate reflection of who God is and who He created me to be and do the work that He created me to do.

This life ISN'T about ME.
It's not about what I want.
It's not about what I like.
It's not about making me happy.
It's not about filling my desires.

I'm just looking for people, or someone, who is on that same page.