perfection as a hindrance

at the White House Healthcare Summit last Thursday, President Barack Obama told key stakeholders: "...we can no longer let the perfect be the enemy of the essential."

perfection: the enemy of the essential

how is perfection the enemy of the essential?  let's say we are idealists, we are perfectionists--what does this mean?  we want what we want and we want it to be perfect.  if we cannot achieve it, we give up.   our ideal world shatters.  we are unable to act, we are unable to move forward, we are unable to do what is needed - what is essential.

how do we stop the perfect from being the enemy of the essential?  we could change our view of perfection.  we could let it be something we aspire to, while understanding that our aspirations may not be 100% realistic.  but would that turn us all into cynics?  what if we took a step back, trying to understand perfection: what it represents and what makes it perfect.  by understanding the original intentions and goals, we might have a better understanding of what we truly hope to accomplish and we may have a better approach to carrying it out, to doing the essential.