This is more an advanced practice regarding understanding the causes and conditions that bring about certain reactions. It has to have the basis of becoming aware after, first and then becoming aware during, so that we are able to see the causes and conditions arising which may cause us to react in a certain way. This comes from a certain amount of self-knowledge, having previously observed what hindrances we tend to get lost in. In addition, by looking more deeply into the eight worldly conditions of praise and blame, gain and loss, pleasure and pain, fame and obscurity, we start to see more clearly when we are involved with certain hindrances and what is motivating them.
You may see that you are the type of person who doesn't like to be obscure and wants to be famous. You may find that you try to be more in the limelight, wanting attention or seeking attention. You may see that desire keeps arising, related to this wish for attention.
So as we understand ourselves more concerning these eight worldly conditions, we may see what is below that craving for praise instead of blame, etc. Perhaps we get lost in aversion a lot and then we see it has always to do with when a person blames us. So as we understand these eight worldly conditions, we start to understand the workings of our personality, that has been conditioned by our society, by our families, friends, etc. We then begin to know in which situations and events we have to bring up more awareness and more caution, so that we can protect ourselves from falling into the very same conditioned reactions again.
This may need a balancing practice of Wise Reflection meditation, Yonisomanasikara, perhaps concerned with the eight worldly dhammas. If you happen to see that you continually get lost in not wanting blame, etc., or wanting fame, what is important is seeing that we are attached to wanting fame "now" and that's the cause of our suffering. If we can see into that, develop more Compassion for ourselves and then try to bring more awareness to these situations where we crave people's attention, we can learn how to give ourselves that attention, learn how to have Compassion and Lovingkindness for ourselves and then we don't need it so much from others.
That's just an example of becoming aware of causes and conditions of different situations especially when the hindrances arise, learning to see deeper into the eight worldly conditions and the motivations of the ego. By having this balancing practice of reflection on the eight worldly conditions, we become more skilled in observing ourselves in all situations. It becomes quite interesting really, just like with the Five Hindrances practice. If we become more skilled in noting the hindrances and seeing how we are spinning in this cycle of conditioning, we can learn how to step out of this conditioning and cut that chain at that moment. That moment of awareness helps us to develop even more awareness of the patterns that go through the mind.
Then we can go deeper into understanding our conditioning concerned with the eight worldly conditions. So that maybe we can bring up the effort to prevent. Remember the Four Great Efforts: the effort to prevent, let go, develop and maintain. Because we don't want to always be using the effort to let go, let go, let go, let go... of things that keep on arising. Sure it's impermanent but we have to understand why it arises and develop the wisdom to know how it won't arise in the future. That's included within the fourth Foundation of Mindfulness. This depends on us developing more wisdom and looking more deeply at the wisdom practice of reflections.