Now that I'm well on my way to becoming a better person, I jumped at the chance to chat with one of the people responsible for my impending transformation.

Weetabix: So, I’m dying to know more about the Happiness Department at Self.

Dana: The fact that we have Happiness editors is unique to Self. We really focus on mental health and the whole package. We cover the intense mental health issues, like actual diagnosable conditions like eating disorders and depression, but happiness is about the run-of-the-mill challenges and victories that we all experience in our daily lives: dealing with co-workers, friends, family, the difficult ones, work issues that women often face. We have experts that consult, Dr. Catherine Birndorf that does a Q&A. We often cover money and also charitable actions because there’s such a strong bond between doing good and feeling good.

Weetabix: I can tell! I'm already feeling happier since embarking on this makeover and I'm only six days in. What gave you the idea to do this?

Dana: This story sprang out of a piece we did last December about forming your own plan and philosophy when it comes to giving. We want to help women figure out how to fit giving into their lives. When you’re giving to something that is very important to you, it has more of an impact on your own life.

Weetabix: Do you inject anything from the makeovers into your own life?

Dana: Absolutely! I’ve been trying to organize my life, inspired by November’s Get Organized One-Month Makeover and I had all these books from college in French. I’m never going to curl up and read a book entirely in French, so I posted them on Craigslist as free for the taking and then found someone who wanted them and today I was going to hand them off. I was standing at the bus stop with 20 pounds of books in the blistering cold, and decided to take a cab but I saw someone that I was pretty sure worked in my building. So I asked him if he worked for Condé Nast, and he looked at me like I was crazy, but yes, he worked in my building, so I asked him if he wanted a ride to work. And then we went to work together.  The important thing is that you choose what works for you. I’m able to give money but also able to give time by volunteering and I’m also able to give someone a ride to work in a cab.

Weetabix: I’m trying to not look ahead and take each day as they come, but I’m a little nervous as to what’s coming. I’m curious as to when there will be a hard stop where I have to say, “Um, uh uh. I can’t do that.”

Dana: Knowing what is coming, I am curious about that too! But you can keep track of your progress on the site, and then next year, you can look back and see what you liked, what you didn’t like, what you want to try again. We’re all about improvement.

Weetabix: What’s coming up next month?

Dana: Our third annual Self Jump Start Diet will be appearing right around Christmas and I don’t want to give it away but it will be a very unique approach this year. Definitely not one size fits all.

Weetabix: Sounds perfect. I am not One Size Fits All! I’m having fun with this so far I may have to try this one. Do you have any advice for me with these makeovers?

Dana: Cut yourself some slack. Don’t expect to do it all all of the time. The philosophy of the magazine is that everyone comes to it from a different place, you take what you can use and leave the rest. You just do your best to improve every day.