Anyone can be a hero. Rachel van de Pol on saving the world (or at least a little bit)

You can dream of a better world, but why not take action yourself? Journalist Rachel van de Pol (33) decided to do a good deed every day for a year, from asking for a doggy bag in a restaurant to ragging the neighbours' windows or handing out ice creams to construction workers on the street. Small acts of heroism are contagious, she writes in The contemporary book of heroes.

Donate drinking water

You did a good deed every day for a year. Did you then imagine in the morning what you were going to do that day, or did it happen spontaneously? Did you have to remind yourself?

'It was a combination of those. I had 365 days to fill, so before I started I had made a list of about a hundred ideas I could implement. Meanwhile, I was very alert to what was happening around me, so I could take every opportunity to do something good. If someone was struggling with their bike, or someone had fallen, I was quicker to come to the rescue. At some point, people started following my blog and I also got tips. One nice one was example that there was an app where the number of minutes you don't look at your phone is distributed in drinking water to children in a developing country. So if I didn't look at my phone for two hours in a day, I thereby donated a certain amount of clean drinking water. I also became more and more creative and started looking at everyday things differently, such as groceries at the supermarket. Which products are environmentally harmful and which are less so? That's how I gained knowledge every day, and made a small contribution to a better world every day.'

Winged gull

What is the most extraordinary act of heroism you have performed?

'It was just the sum of all those little things that 'did it'. For instance, I rescued a wingless seagull on the street and in the process came into contact with people I initially thought would not help me. But they actually turned out to be super helpful. I experienced that throughout the year. It is sometimes said that our world is moving away, but if you get actively involved, it turns out to be not that bad. I came into contact with a lot of people who were doing the same thing in their own way or who were going to participate. I found that special to discover.'

Social changes

What has this year changed for you?

'I started looking differently at how social change comes about. Before, I had the idea that change is mainly brought about by prominent figures; by politics or people with money or power. But in this year, I have seen how quickly small individual acts can multiply. Social change is a sum of lots of small, individual acts by people like you and me. It is important to realise that. We should think much more often: what can I contribute myself? After all, positive actions are contagious, scientific research also shows. You may think that your action is just a drop in the ocean, but if you do something good for someone else, there is a very good chance that they will pass it on. I hope my book gives people a reason to take action themselves. Because you have more influence than you think.'

Second-hand clothing

Are you still performing a good deed every day now?

'No. I'm very glad I did it, but because I also had to document it all, I was pretty exhausted after that year. Now I have found a better balance between giving and taking rest. Most importantly, it has become a habit for me. I look around me better on the street, and I also deal with food or clothes very differently now than before, when I didn't know that the garment industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world. I used to have a hand in buying the H&M empty, now I buy less and mostly second-hand. On New Year's Eve, my boyfriend and I went to play bingo with older people during the day. I wouldn't have done that before. It has become more of a part of my life.'