I think the only reason that many students find mathematics difficult is because the education system has failed to sell it to them. Cramming formulae, solving "REAL WORLD" problems and taking ridiculous amount of tests to brush up your math skills is not really MATH. Math is an art form that needs to be discovered by the students themselves. 

The train of imagination and rational thinking are the real juice of mathematics. Just like every other art form math too needs to be presented as such. The applications of mathematics inn the real world are only the byproducts of this art. I would highly recommend a solid read of A Mathematician's Lament by Paul Lockhart. It really answers your question in the most elaborative form and explains my point of view in details. Here's a link to it:

https://www.amazon.com/Mathematicians-Lament-School-Fascinating-Imaginative/dp/1934137170