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Are you out of your mind? You are in no shape to clamber over hills!” As a first time trek enthusiast, I’m sure you’ve heard this line before. Somehow most people think you have to be a cross between a body builder and a marathon runner to be an outdoor lover. Or you have to be a mountain goat, have the temperament of a sherpa to lug stuff all over the landscape, and generally be skilled with outdoor survival.

But nothing could be further from the truth. Sure, the first time you climb a mountain your body will revolt. Your lungs will burn, your muscles will put you through punishment far worse than you might have experienced. And yes, you will have trouble pitching the tent and getting dinner going. But then there will always be something intangible that will drive you ahead. Your belief in yourself.

With belief and pride you will be able to lift yourself off the ground. Ah, you think that is ridiculous? Wasn’t it James Michener who said, “Show me a man whose feet are not in the air and I will show you a man who can’t take off his own trousers”? He knew what he was saying for sure. As I always tell the naysayer, the outdoors is more about the mind than it is about the body. With your mind on your side, you can do anything.

What is achievement? Is it something that can only be recognised by a Padma Shree, a Padma Bhushan or a Param Veer Chakra? Does an official have to tell you that you achieved something before it becomes an achievement? Do you have to get a ‘Certificate of Excellence’ from your HR department before you can sense achievement? Or is there a feeling of pride within you, which is enough to signal achievement? For example, the pride you feel when you have safely negotiated your way over a frozen lake, saved an animal from dying, nurtured a tree and watched it bloom?

It’s strange, how much of a bearing the outdoors has on everyday life, isn’t it? And so as you scale that peak, reach your destination, let go of your backpack from your aching shoulders and collapse on the grass or a rocky clearing, your heart will nearly overflow with joy — with the fact that you proved it to yourself. And nothing, absolutely nothing, can take this pride away from you.

In the end, the outdoors are always on your side, ready to be a friend, philosopher and guide.

Dinesh KS is co-founder of Wildcraft, an outdoor adventure gear company