Welcome aboard.
The X is a very capable vehicle as it sits. It can be woken up a great deal with just some simple things. If your goal is exploration, you don't have to go nuts. If you want to go heavy duty rock crawling, it'll take much more effort and money.
Will the endless mod cycle result in you enjoying the great outdoors that much more? This is what you must ask yourself. Most times, not, but it is a very fun and easy vehicle to drive, own, work on, etc.
Tires make a huge difference. You also can easily lift it safely 1.5 inches for around $50-$60 (called a poor man's lift). Removing the rear (not front) swaybar affects little and costs nothing. Better shocks also go a long way.
After that, most go for protection, such as sliders that replace your step rails to protect the body and flat armor that protects the undercarriage.
Getting some gear figured out for camping, cooking, exploring is always a great start. Best thing is to get outside and use it!
I second this as it can clear you enough for some moderate exploring without to much worry. Now if you follow Xtoolbox , then you might want to have full skids. But the PML is a inexpesnsive improvement, that with some decent tires can take you to many places X-ploring
