There are many things potentially laying in a student’s way of learning in mathematics. One might say that it's too confusing, it isn't even useful, or that it's just plain boring. These are the big three outlooks students usually have which makes them the top things to counter. "It's just too confusing." I find that this usually stems from a student not being able to make connections, when learning a new branch of math, to older things that they already know. They're trying to build new knowledge, but the foundation being built upon isn't stable. I'll be there to not simple tell a student what the answer is, but give them reason as to why the answer is what it is, how it's found. This helps ensure that when the student sees a similar problem, they know what it's like and know that it doesn't just come from some random question. "This isn't useful." People come up with this argument for not just math, but almost any subject that they have a poor understanding of. It's always difficult to see the relevance of a tool when you don't know what job the tool is meant for. I'll be ready to help give a student examples of why this information is good to know so that it can seem relevant to their life. "Math is so boring." This argument is much more subjective as there's always a subject a student simply sees as the least interesting. Math is often labeled as this when it becomes a compilation of formulas that need to be memorized so that "If I'm asked to do 'this' then I need to use 'that' formula." Formulas aren't just random things; they're important for a reason and come from answering questions people have previously asked in the past. A student will find something much more interesting if they can see the need for a way to solve a problem. Other thoughts or issues a student may have are usually smaller, but no less important to take care of. I'll always look for a way to make this subject one of wonder to spark interest and one of relevance to give a reason for knowledge.