This is not a new topic, but perhaps a bit more light will be shed on it. I find myself enjoying the invitation I've sensed from the Holy Spirit to share my unedited wants with Him. I distinguish these from formal prayer requests. The reason for this is that I'm not sure I truly want my unedited wants. Like you, I've discovered in life that there are things I thought I wanted and later changed my mind about. Since God knows me better than I know myself, I don't feel any pressure at all to ask for things that are current wants. Yet, I discern a warm invitation from Him to simply talk to Him about all of the things that I think I want. Nothing is off limits. For example, sometimes I want revenge on someone who has injured me. It's true. I have imagined what I'd do to some of the unsavory people I've encountered. I know revenge belongs to God. It's off the table for me, but just admitting that it's something I sometimes want diffuses it. Acknowledging how I actually feel, not how I wish I would feel, invites God into the mess. It also frees me from pretension and fakery.
Not doing this leaves these wants nagging at me. Doing it eventually influences me to either take them off my "want list" or actually move them onto my request list. When they've transitioned to the request list, I am pretty confident that they are things that both God and I want for me. Does this make sense?
Pay attention to your wants, however fanciful, however self-serving or even sinful they might seem. If you have them, own them and ask God about them. Ask Him to show you what is driving them. Feel free to ask Him to take away any wants that will dishonor Him and injure you.
Prayer then moves from an obligatory exercise to a rich and enjoyable friendship with God.