Terry's Story

Walking, meditation and laughter; these are just some of the ways Terry Dibble pursues his well-being at OU. As the coordinator of the exercise science internships as well as being a special lecturer, Dibble finds time for his well-being in order to spend time with his grandkids.

“I have grandkids so being able to hang out with them and play with them and just be able to do daily activities and not have to worry about it. That's kind of the main push for me,” he says.

For as long as he can remember, Dibble has been meditating practically every day to relieve stress, clear his mind and envision how the day will go. Whether it be at work or at home, he tries to take 30 minutes out of his day to meditate and wishes students would buy into the idea.

Meditation, along with his other activities like walking on campus and biking the Macomb Orchard Trail, is how he makes his well-being a priority.

Dibble understands that it can be challenging when it comes to working on all the different dimensions of your well-being — emotional, physical, spiritual, occupational, intellectual, financial, social and environmental.

“As long as you’re hitting most of them at a high level and some of them it may be a lower level, I think that’s what well-being is,” he explains.

Dibble has been working at OU since 2001, and through changing positions, he says he enjoys where he works and being able to talk with students and staff is beneficial to him in achieving high levels of multiple dimensions.

Something that has helped him with his quest for well-being has been having the Rec Center available, along with the employee programs. Dibble has hosted several stress management sessions with Rec Well in the past, as well as teaching a course called “Laughter as a Therapeutic Modality,” which is offered to OU students.

“I think laughter is one of the key things that I enjoy too, I like to laugh, I like to make people laugh,” he says.