Slow and Steady…
While aptitude may have something to do with your success in math, hard work and perserverance trumps any natural ability that you may have. There is a principle called the slight edge that teaches that idea in a big way.
Simply put, the slight edge says that with small incremental advances over time, you can achieve huge results. It also says that if you put in a little more effort daily than the average student in practicing math, you will be many times better than they are over time.
Say, for instance, your friend who is awesome at math, spends only 15 minutes a day on his math homework and none on practicing previously learned material. You, on the other hand, take longer to do homework, BUT you spend 15-30 minutes every day practicing what you have learned, and you will soon find that you will surpass your friend in math awesomeness.
This principle applies to everything you want to have success in. For example, if you only read 1 minute of night in a particular subject, you will have read 8000 words in a school year, while if you read 20 minutes a day, you will have read 1,800,000 words! That is a huge difference, and you will be becoming an expert in that field. Studies have shown that students who read every day for 20 minutes will have larger vocabularies, and much more success in school and life assuming the subjects are positive and practical.
Regards,
C00lnerd